-i^..  •Sr-.-.I* 


THE 

FURNITURE   OF 
OUR   FOREFATHERS 


4 


lS-0 

ax 


r^ 


/s-o^S^ 


THIS    BOOK  IS  NOT   RETVRNABI^ 
OR  SUBJECT  TO  EXCHANGE 

Brent  ANO'S 

KXeilANOBP. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/furnitureofourfoOOsingiala 


BEDSTEAD 

Carnjed  oak  ivooJ ;  ivith  columns,  tester,  and  head-board  of  debased  classic  charaaer,  o-rtamented 

in  marquetry.       English,  dated  1^93-        Height,  7  ft.  4  m.; 

length,  J  ft.  J I  in.;  'width,  j  ft.  8  in. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRITICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 

By  RUSSELL  STURGIS- 
ILLUSTRATED 

COMPLETE     IN     ONE     VOLUME 


GARDEN  CITY       NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,     PAGE     &      COMPANY 
I        9        I        3 


COPYRIGHT,  1900,  I90I,   1908,  BT 
DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT   OK   TRANSLATION 
INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES,  INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 


CONTENTS 


Part  I 

Part  II 

Part  III 

Part  IV 

Part  V 

Part  VI 

Part  VII 
Part  VIII 


Early  Southern 
Carved  Oak  and 
teenth  Century. 

Later  Southern 
Oak,   Walnut   and 


Walnut   of  the  Seven- 


Early    Mahogany. 


Early   New    England     . 

Imported  and  Home-made  Pieces  of  the 

Seventeenth  Century. 

Dutch  and  English  Periods 
New  York  from  1615  to  1776. 

New  England  from  1700  to  1776    . 
Imported  and  Home-made  Pieces  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century. 

Chippendale  .... 

And  Other  Great  Cabinet-makers  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century. 

Domestic   and    Imported   Furniture 
From  1776  to  1830. 

Woods,   Upholstery    and    Styles 
Of  the    Early   Nineteenth   Century. 

For  detailed  Contents  and  List  of  Illus- 
trations of  each    Part  see  the  front 
matter  immediately  preceding  the 
above  folios.  The  volume  con- 
tains a  complete    Index 
to     the    whole 
work. 


PACt 

3 


79 
155 

235 
315 

403 

487 
571 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  m^m 

FOREFATHERS 


r:^s::x:::g::x:^:^:s:s:x:^:::^::;g:x:sLx:xs 


THE    FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRJTICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGlS 


ILLUSTRATED 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE   &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,  1900,  BY 
DOUBLEDAY.  PAGt  &     CO. 


CONTENTS 


3 


7 
9 
9 

lO 


The  Early  Settlers  ..... 

Their  arrival  and  manner  of  living;  law  regulating  free  grants 
of  land  made;  endeavours  to  improve  dwellings;  condition 
of  settlements  in  1619;  further  measures  taken  toward  ar- 
chitectural improvement,  1635;  the  effect  of  the  Indian 
massacre  in  1622;  gradual  improvement  of  houses. 

Contents  of   Dwellings  Previous  to    1650 

General  inventories  of  "  necessaries  for  planters." 

The   Looking-Glass      ...... 

Its  price,  make,  and  raritv. 

The  Trenchers    ....... 

The   Bed       ........ 

Its  importance ;  price ;  descriptions  of  bed  and  fittings  belong- 
ing to  various  royal  personages  in  England,  10—14;  general 
description,  14-18. 

General  character  of  furniture  in  middle  of  seventeenth  cen- 
tun",  18;  its  make;  style;  wood;  nationality;  style  of  deco- 
ration;  its  gradual  evolution,  18-21. 

Thomas   Deacon's  Possessions        .  .  .         21-22 

The  Wainscot     .  .  .  .  .  .  -23 

The  Carpet         .......      24 

Inventory  of   Leonard   Calvert  .  .         24-26 

Governor  of  Maryland. 

Miscellaneous     Information     Regarding     Indi- 
vidual Possessions  of  the   Period      .  26-29 
Glass             ........      29 

Various  Old   Letters  ...         3^—34 

To  private  persons  descriptive  of  mode  of  life  in    1686  and 
thereabouts. 

The   Estate  of   Captain   Stephen   Gill       .         34-36 


CONTENTS 


•  38 

•  40 

•  44 
45-51 


The   Cupboard     .......     36 

Similaritv  to  each  other  in  court-,  standing-,  hverv-cupboard 
and  press ;  examples  from  inventories  with  their  prices,  37  ;  its 
variations  in  size  and  decoration. 

Rooms  in  Houses  of  the  Seventeenth  Century 
Inventory  of  Mr.   Gyles  Mode 

of  York  County,  Va.,  40,  and  various  other  inventories,  44 

The   Advance   of   Luxury     .... 
The   Chair  ...... 

Its  makes,  prices,  upholstering;  favourite  patterns;  inventories 
of  various  persons,  including  chairs,  with  valuations,  46—47; 
descriptions  of  illustrations  of  chairs,  48—51. 

Further  Increase  OF  Luxury  Among  THE  Planters  5  2— 54 

The  inventory  of  the  estate  of  Colonel  Francis  Epes. 

The  Box,  Chest  and  Trunk  .  .  .  -54 

General  description,  54—56  ;  description  of  personal  ownership 
of  such,  56—57. 

Inventory  ......         58—61 

Contents  of  house  belonging  to  Nicholas  Wyatt,  of  Maryland. 

The   Cabinep        ......         61-62 

Material  used  for  construction ;  design,  decoration,  style,  etc. 

The  Table  ......         62-65 

Evolution  of  different  styles  and  shapes;  ornamentation, 
design  ;   prices,  etc. 

Books  ....... 

Their  scarcity  and    prices,  65  ;   libraries  of  Dr.  John  Wil 
loughby  and  of  Thomas  Perkins,  65-66. 

Table-Forks  and  Warming-Pans 
Influence  of  French   Renaissance 
Home-Made   Furniture        .... 
Furnishing  of  a   Court-House    . 

of  the  late  seventeenth  century  period. 

Miscellaneous     Information      concerning 
Virginian   Settler 

His  mode  of  living  ;  average  household  goods;  the  greatly 
increased  prosperity  of  the  planter;  of  settlements,  etc.,  etc. 


.   65 

66-67 
68-69 

•   70 
.   70 


THE 

70-73 


List  of  Illustrations 


WITH     CRITICAL     NOTES     ON      MANY     OF 
THE      PLATES      BY      RUSSELL      STURGIS 


ALL    THE    NOTES    rVRNISHEP     BY     MK.     STURGIS 
ARE    rOLLOM'EO    MY     HIS    INITIALS,     K.     S. 


F'rontispiece 


FACING 

Bedstead  wich  very  Urge  tester  supported  on  separate  columns.  The  material  is  oak  with 
a  little  inlajr  of  coloured  woods  in  the  headboard.  Good  taste  and  a  feeling  of  appro- 
priateness is  seen  in  the  modification  of  such  architectural  features  as  the  Ionic  capitals; 
these  being  made  unusually  large  and  spreading  to  correspond  with  the  slendemess  of  parts  of 
what  may  be  called  the  shafts.  The  free  use  of  reedings  is  noticeable  ;  these  becoming  what 
are  called  godrons  (orgadroons)  where  they  decorate  a  convcxly  rounded  surface.      R.  S. 

Oaken  Cabinet  ....         facing 

Closed  cabinet  in  two  bodies,  with  top  also  separate.  Four  cupboards,  four  drawers.  The 
strictly  architectural  character  of  the  design  marks  it  as  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
freedom  of  the  sculpture  and  the  peculiar  forms  of  the  scroll-work  suggest  a  continental 
origin.      The  piece  is  probably  Flemish  and  of  about  1580.     R.  S. 

An  Old  Chair    ....... 

Walnut  with  yoke-shaped  top  rail,  turned  tapering  side  supports  under  central  panel 
curved  backwards.  There  is  a  beading  around  the  lower  curved  edge  of  the  seat  of  the 
chair  and  the  edges  of  the  cabriole-shaped  legs.  The  front  and  back  legs  are  similar  in 
shape.     The  seat  is  covered  with  pile  needlework  of  floral  pattern.     About  17 10. 

Oaken  Stool  .....       facing 

Date  early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  extremely  simple  decoration  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  mirror  frame  (see  page  16).  Height,  8^  inches;  length,  16  inches; 
width,  l|i^  inches.      R.  S. 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair       .... 

Painted,  high  back  with  top  rail  carved  and  pierced  over  a  long  panel  rounded  at  top  and 
bottom.  The  seat  is  pbin  frame  filled  in  with  the  original  cane  webbing.  The  legs  are 
carved  with  projecting  knees  and  feet  turned  outward.  A  carved  and  pierced  rail  joins 
the  two  front  legs.      The  ornament  is  of  Krolls  and  foliage. 


Seventeenth  Century  Chairs 

The  chair  to  the  left  is  said  to  have  been  used  by  Charles  II. 
hand  was  used  by  Robert    Proud,  historian. 

Table  with  Two  Flaps 


FACING 

The  one  upon  the  right- 


Oak,  oval ;  the  new  top  stands  on  six  baluster-shaped  legs,  two  of  which  move  in 
sockets  to  support  the  flaps.  A  framework  of  plain  bars  strengthens  the  legs,  and  on 
one  side  isa  long  drawer  with  carved  front.  Seventeenth  century.  Height,  1  feet,  4|^ 
inches.     Top,  a  fieet,  9  inches  by  2  feet,  7  inches. 


rAcc 

iii 


1 1 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Eighteenth  Century  Windsor  Armchair      .       .      14 

Birch  ;  the  back  is  formed  by  a  curved  top  rail,  a  curved  central  panel,  two  straight 
pieces  and  spindle-shaped  bars.  The  flat  arm-rail  is  supported  by  four  bars  on  each  side. 
Cabriole-shaped  legs. 

An  Old  Mirror  ....  facing      16 

Dated  1603,  undoubtedly  English.  The  whole  is  of  oak.  This  piece,  dating  from  the 
year  of  Elizabeth's  death  and  the  accession  of  James  I,  was  put  together  in  the  simplest 
way  with  mortise  and  tenon  joints  held  by  pins,  but  there  is  a  little  elaboration  in  the 
ornament  secured  by  inserting  little  tesserae  of  oak  alternately  light  and  dark  in  the  flat  up- 
rights of  the  frame.  Otherwise  the  carving  is  of  the  most  obvious  and  simple  descrip- 
tion, efl«ctive  enough,  but  neither  choice  nor  delicate  in  its  lines.  The  bounding  out- 
line of  the  fi-ame  is  certainly  not  happy.  Height,  z  feet,  3^  inches;  width,  2  feet, 
^  inches  ;  the  dimensions  being  taken  over  all.      R.  S. 

Chair  op  Walnut        .  .  .  .  .  .16 

It  is  supposedly  Flemish.  The  turning  and  moulding  are  skilful,  but  the  sculpture  is 
hasty  and  unmeaning  ;   dated  1678. 

Small  Chest  and  Table  of  Oak         .  facing      17 

Table  and  small  chest ;  the  table  dated  1622.  These  pieces  have  been  painted.  They 
were  formerly  a  part  of  the  furniture  of  Montacute  Priory  (Somersetshire)  and  probably 
the  box  was  intended  for  offerings.  The  simple  sculpture  of  the  panel  on  the  front  of 
this  receptacle  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  other  cabinets ;  it  is  more 
pictorial  and  descriptive  than  they  and  reminds  the  student  of  the  inlaid  Dutch  work  of 
the  epoch  in  the  preference  shown  for  floral  forms.  There  is  nothing  attractive  about 
the  table  except  the  graceful  outline  given  to  the  turned  and  carved  legs.      R.  S. 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair  of  Oak  .  .     20 

High-backed  chair  bearing  arms  which  are  thought  to  be  those  of  Thomas  Went- 
worth,  the  first  earl  of  Stafford,  minister  ot  Charles  1,  and  beheaded  in  1641.  The 
chair  is  of  about  1630. 

Butter  Cupboard  of  Oak  .  .  facing     22 

Cabinet  entirely  enclosed,  with  two  cupboards  and  a  secret  below,  and  another  large  cup- 
board with  two  doors  above,  and  two  large  drawers.  The  material  in  the  present  instance 
is  entirely  oak,  and  in  the  sides  there  are  perforations  to  admit  air.  Pieces  of  this  pattern 
are  often  called  in  England  butter  cupboards.  The  decoration  is  all  of  the  simplest  rural 
character,  done  by  clever  village  carpenters  skilled  in  the  use  of  simple  tools  and  enjoying 
the  humble  decorations  which  they  applied  to  the  rough  pieces  they  made.  As  the  fram- 
ing of  the  present  cupboard  is  of  the  simplest  and  most  obvious  sort,  the  tenons  held  in 
their  places  by  two  pins  to  each,  so  the  carving  is  a  mere  varying  of  the  surface  by  em- 
bossed figures  alternating  with  slight  sinkings  ;  but  nearly  all  applied  with  excellent  taste, 
and  an  admirable  sense  of  what  figures  would  truly  adorn  the  panels  and  solids.  The 
very  curious  framing  of  the  upper  doors  may  be  noted.  There  are  no  pieces  which  can 
be  called  stiles  or  rails,  and  the  piece  which  has  a  tenon  cut  at  one  end  has  a  mortise  cut 
in  its  side  near  the  opposite  end.  Total  height,  4  feet,  8^  inches;  width,  4  feet,  4 
inches.      R.  S. 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair        .  .  .  -23 

Armchair  of  walnut  wood. 

Oaken  Coffer      ....  .        facing 


Chest  bearing  the  curious  inscription  "This  is  Esther  Hobsonne  chist,  1637."  It  is  of 
oak  and  unquestionably  English.  As  is  common  in  large  coffers  of  the  time  in  England, 
there  is  little  attempt  to  make  the  piece  a  complete  parallelogram  on  each  of  its  four 
sides  with  a  continuous  base  of  parallel  mouldings  and  a  cap  or  edge  of  cover  to  cor- 
respond. Almost  any  French  or  German  chest  of  the  time  would  be  built  on  those 
lines,  and  the  horizontal  members  of  top  and  bottom  would  have  been  the  controlling 


23 


33 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAG* 

element  of  thr  detign  ;  while  the  feet  would  be  additional  halls  or  haluctefihaped 
tenninab.  The  English  chest,  however,  fre«)uentl)r  had,  a*  in  this  case,  the  four  up- 
rights which  form  the  two  ends  of  its  principal  sides  carried  down  beyond  the  horixontals 
tu  form  feet  fur  the  whole  box.  This  is  to  a  great  extent  destructive  of  the  dignity  of 
the  piece,  which,  accordingly,  has  a  much  more  familiar  and  carelessly  designed  look. 
This,  however,  is  abundantly  made  up  in  the  case  before  us  by  the  admirably  adapted 
sculpture.  It  is  seldom  that  a  piece  of  furniture  is  found  which,  covered  all  over  with 
carving,  has  still  that  carving  so  well  iitted  fur  its  place,  in  every  part,  and  so  spirited  in 
detail.  The  very  simplicity  and  rustic  character  of  the  carving  increase  this  appearance 
o(  attractiveness  of  purpose  and  fitness  of  all  its  parts.  Height,  z  feet,  6  inches  j  length, 
$  feet,   I  inch  ;  depth,  2  feet,  J%  inches.      R.  S. 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair        .  .  .  -27 

Chair  of  the  type  known  as  "Curule  chair,"  about  1660.  It  is  in  walnut  except  the 
seat,  which  is  temporary  and  covered  roughly  with  a  piece  of  velvet.  The  carving  is  of 
extreme  rudeness  and  seenu  to  be  not  merely  hasty  but  also  the  work  of  an  unskilled 
hand.      R.  S. 

Two  Armchairs  in  Jacobean  Style       .    .   facing      32 

Two  armchairs,  Jacobean  in  style  and  to  be  dated  about  1630  although  the  upholstery 
and  the  very  carefully  made  cane  work  may  well  be  later.      R.  S. 

Bedstead  with  Tester  and  Hangings    .     facing 

The  visible  woodwork  is  of  about  1620—30  ;  the  upholstery  probably  fifty  yean  later  ; 
curtains  running  easily  on  rings  j   very  well  designed  hand-made  fringes.      R.  S. 

0\ken  Cupboard         ....  facing      36 

Cabinet  dated  1 603.  Undoubtedly  English  work.  The  material  is  oak  except  where  a 
tulip  plant  is  coarsely  inlaid  and  where,  below  the  date  and  below  the  drawers  and  the 
inlaid  tulip,  is  a  band  of  alternating  squares,  light  and  dark  wood.  The  sculptured  bust 
of  the  lady  is  of  singular  grace  and  delicacy  although  it  shows  a  hand  unpracticed  in  the 
use  of  relief  in  figure  subject.  That  is  to  say.  it  is  rather  the  front  part  of  a  statue 
copied  in  the  wood  than  a  deliberately  made  design  in  relief.  The  treatment 
of  the  costume  even  in  its  minutest  details  is  unusually  effective.  The  purely  dec- 
orative Kulpture  is  peculiar  in  the  careful  avoidance  of  massive  or  surface  covering 
leafage  ;  it  is  all  reduced  to  very  narrow  ridges  and  terminal  sprigs  hardly  broader,  in  this 
closely  resembling  much  of  the  sculpture  of  peasant  furniture  in  the  far  south  of  France  dur- 
ing this  and  the  succeeding  century.  The  wrought  iron  work  is  interesting  especially  be- 
cause of  its  evident  rudeness.  It  is  apparently  the  work  of  a  country  blacksmith.  Height, 
4  feet,  2)^  inches i  length,  3  feet,  loji^  inches;  depth,  i  foot,  9^  inches.     R.  S. 

Armchair  .....  facing      37 

Of  about  1650,  with  upholstering  either  of  the  same  date  or  renewed  in  the  original 
style. 

Walnut  Chair    .......      39 

Belonging  to  Sir  William  Gooch,  Governor  of  Virginia  1727-47.  From  the  original 
in  the  possession  or  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  Richmond. 

Armchair  Dated  1670  .  .  .        facing     40 

Of  oak  and  apparently  of  English  work.  The  initials  I.  P.  cannot  now  be  identified. 
Although  so  much  later  than  the  cabinet  facing  page  3  the  Kulpture  is  of  almost  ex- 
actly the  same  character  ;  indicating,  perhaps,  the  rural  or  remote  origin  of  the  piece. 
In  days  of  slow  and  difficult  communication  the  workmen  of  an  out-of-the-way  country- 
nde  would  be  following  the  traditions  of  their  fathers  at  a  time  when  the  carvers  of  the 
metropolis  and  its  neighborhood  had  better  advantage  from  over  seas  or  from  the  influence 
of  the  court.  This  piece  can  hardly  be  praised  for  its  design  or  workmanship.  It  is  the 
rude  work  of  unskilful  and  not  over-tasteful  artiuns.      R.  S. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACE 

Seventeenth  Century  Cromwell  Chair       .        .      42 

Armchair  of  about  1650  with  upholstery  cither  of  the  same  date  or  renewed  in  the 
original  style. 

An  Oak  Chair  of  1649         .  .  .  .  -43 

The  stuffed  scat  is  covered  with  maroon  leather  over  which  is  a  piece  of  canvas  worked 
with  colored  wools  in  the  manner  of  a  carpet. 

Two  Armchairs    .         .  .  .  .  .  .     45 

Two  armchairs  of  about  1660,  the  description  in  the  museum  catalogue  stating  them 
to  be  of  the  north  of  England,  Yorkshire  and  Derbyshire.  The  one  at  the  right  should 
be  compared  with  the  "  Curule  chair"  (page  27),  which  shows  a  similar  handling  of 
the  rough  ornamentation.      R.  S. 

Two  Seventeenth  Century  Armchairs  .    facing      41 

Armchair  ;  dated  1668.  Of  oak.  Armchair  of  about  the  same  period,  of  walnut.  The 
oak  chair  has  a  little  very  well  designed  scrollwork  and  incised  ornamentation  in  the 
panel  of  the  back  which  corresponds  with  and  repeats  the  incised  figures  of  the  date. 
The  walnut  chair  has  no  wooden  back,  not  even  a  top  rail,  and  the  seat  and  back  are 
made  alike  of  stamped  and  figured  leather.  This  leather  b  of  elegant  design,  the  semi- 
heraldic  decoration  filling  the  surface  of  the  broad  strap  very  perfectly  and  with  a  true 
sense  of  its  significance.  On  the  other  hand,  the  woodwork  of  the  piece  is  absolutely 
without  character,  even  the  little  balusters  which  unite  the  two  straining-pieces  beneath  the 
seat,  having  all  the  appearance  of  much  later  work,  are  simply  turned  in  the  lathe.    R.  S. 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair       .  .  .  '49 

Painted  ^  high  back  with  carved  and  pierced  top  rail.  Back  framing  and  lower  rail 
carved  and  incised,  the  central  panel  of  the  back  and  seat  filled  in  with  cane  webbing. 
T'iie  legs  and  two  straining  rails  are  spirally  turned.  Carved  and  incised  front  rail. 
About  1660.     Owned  by  W.  H.  Evans,  Esq.,    Fordc  Abbey,  England. 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair        .  .  .  •     49 

Walnut,  high  back,  with  a  long  panel  rounded  at  each  end  and  filled  in  with  cane  web- 
bing, surmounted  by  a  pedimental  piece  carved  and  pierced,  supported  by  two  turned  pil- 
lars continuous  with  the  cane  webbing.  The  seat  is  plain  frame  filled  in  with  cane  web- 
bing. The  front  legs  and  straining  rails  are  turned.  Owned  by  C.  H.  Talbot,  Esq., 
Lacock  Abbey,   England. 

High-backed  Chair     .  .         .  .  .  -50 

Covered  with  stamped  Spnish  leather  of  a  tawny  colour  fostened  with  brass  studs.  The 
front  rail  consists  of  two  interlacing  scrolls.  From  the  original  in  the  Memorial  Hall, 
Philadelphia. 

Oaken  Cradles  ....  facing      ^o 

Cradle  (i),  dated  1687,  of  oak  ;  (2)  cradle,  also  of  oak  and  of  about  1660.  Each  of 
these  very  interesting  pieces  is  a  simple  box  with  four  upright  posts  at  the  comers,  which 
posts  are  framed  into  the  rockers  in  one  case  by  mortise  and  tenon,  in  the  other  by  hav- 
ing the  end  of  the  post  saw-cut  for  a  depth  of  three  or  four  inches,  and  the  much  thinner 
rocker  let  into  this  and  pinned  fast.  No.  i  bears  its  date  on  the  panel  of  the  foot,  the 
lines  and  the  moulding  around  them  being  in  low  relief;  the  panels  on  the  sides  are  carved 
with  very  simple  bands  of  scrollwork  with  stars  and  similar  decorations,  all  in  slight  re- 
lief. No.  2,  much  more  elaborate,  is  carved  all  over,  framework  and  panels  alike  ; 
this  also  has  a  covered  head-piece  apparently  for  no  purpose  except  greater  display.  This 
latter  has  preserved  its  original  velvet  cushions.     R.  S. 

Seventeenth     Century    Armchair     of    Carved 

Black  Walnut      ......     50 

The  legs  are  turned,  the  seat  is  of  wooden  cane.  The  back  and  ht>nt  rail  are  highly 
carved. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Seventeenth  Century  Chair       .  .  .  •      5^ 

Armchair  of  uncertain  date,  probably  beginning  of  KTenteenth  centur)'.  Piece*  lo  der<M 
of  ornament  are  impo«ible  to  date  accurately.  Such  furniture,  intended  to  receive  its 
•ole  decoration  from  the  upholitery,  or,  at  in  this  ca«e,  stamped  leather-work  and  wrought 
nail-heads,  were  made  from  I  5$o  to  1 800  ;  and  during  all  this  time  their  forms  did  not 
change  in  any  definite  way.     R.  S. 

Cabinet  of  Oak  .....       facing      51 

Cabinet  with  drawer*  ;  not  dated,  but  apparently  of  the  closing  yean  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  This  is  an  elaborate  piece  intended  for  the  drawing-room  or  long  gallery  of  a 
mansion  ;  the  outer  doors  are  of  oak  veneered  on  the  face  with  hexagonal  pieces  or  wood 
described  in  the  original  inventory  at  **  Thorn  Acacia,"  and  the  inside  also  veneered,  but 
with  oak,  except  for  the  border  of  dark  and  light  squares,  which  are  of  rosewood  and 
sycamore.  The  drawers  within,  eleven  in  number,  are  veneered  with  walnut,  with  an 
edging  of  sycamore,  but  the  edge  of  the  framework  which  supports  and  encloses  them 
it  of  walnut.  The  cornice  of  the  cabinet  is  of  pear  wood  with  walnut  inlaid  in  front,  the 
separation  hardly  visible  in  the  picture ;  and  the  cushion-like  frieze  of  the  top  is  the  out- 
ndc  of  the  drawer  of  which  the  face  it  of  walnut.  The  cabinet  proper,  that  is  to  say, 
the  enclosed  box-like  piece,  rests  upon  a  table  entirely  of  oak.  The  pulls  of  the  drawers 
are  probably  bter  than  the  woodwork,  and  are  not  of  importance.  Such  pieces  were 
easy  to  make  in  the  country  in  the  neighbourhood  or,  perhaps,  in  the  buildings  themselves 
of  any  estate,  and  a  singular  tradition  exists  to  the  effect  than  an  attempt  was  made  to  in- 
clude in  the  decoration  specimens  of  all  kinds  of  wood  found  on  the  estate  ;  but  this 
legend  has  rather  the  air  of  ha\-ing  been  deliberately  invented  at  a  later  date.  What  is 
noticeable  it  the  willing  abandonment  of  all  free  and  untaught  decoration  on  the  part  of 
the  workmen.  Evidently  a  more  sophisticated  age  had  come  when  the  only  carving  al- 
lowed was  in  the  form  of  cable  twisted  uprights  and  horizontals.  Height  of  table,  2  feet^ 
3  inches  ;  height  of  box,  2  feet,  5  inches.     R.  S. 

Oaken  Chest  of  Drawers   .  .  .         .  55 

Cabinet  or  upright  chest  of  drawers  of  the  time  of  William  III  (  1688  to  1702).  Th: 
vicious  habit,  ultimately  destructive  of  all  sincerity  and  character  in  cabinet  work — the 
habit  of  planting  on  mouldings — had  made  some  headway  in  France  even  at  a  much 
earlier  date,  as  before  the  accession  of  Louis  XIV  ;  but  in  England  the  tradition  uf  solid 
oak  and  of  straightforward  carpenter  work  was  slower  to  gi  >e  way.  The  piece  is  of  oak 
with  the  rosettes  and  drop  handles  of  brass.  Its  dimensions  are:  4  feet,  4}^  inches  in  • 
total  height,  and  3  feet,  2  inches  in  width.     R.  S. 

Cabinet     ......  facing     56 

Cabinet,  the  panels  of  1630  or  the  following  years  and  undoubtedly  of  English  work  ; 
though  the  minor  decorations  of  the  piece  indicate  a  date  of  1670  or  thereabout.  Such 
remounting  of  carved  panels  is  not  uncommon.  The  cabinet  is  entirely  in  walnut  ;  the 
earring  of  the  large  panels  is  extremely  interesting  because  of  the  frank  treatment  of  a 
complicated  subject,  in  each  case,  by  a  hand  of  but  little  skill.  It  is  this  willingness  of 
skilled  artisans,  who  were  yet  not  artists  of  knowledge  and  power,  to  do  work  of  decora- 
tive character  which  makes  the  furniture  as  well  as  the  architecture,  the  silverware  and 
the  textiles  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  previous  centuries  so  attractive.  In  our  tinw 
these  panels  would  have  to  be  bare  of  ornament  or  carved  with  the  most  conventional 
foliage,  or  else  entrusted  to  a  sculptor  who  would  charge  J>200  apiece  for  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  purely  decorative  parts  are  of  but  little  value.  The  heads  are 
poorly  modelled,  the  seated  figures  in  the  spandrels  are  wretchedly  composed,  and  the 
\tahgf  has  but  little  character.  An  exception  may  be  made  in  ^vour  of  the  upright 
piUster*  beyond  the  baluster  columns  of  the  upper  section.  It  may  be  thought  that  the 
three  figures  in  low  relief  are  portraits;  the  uppermost  one  might  well  be  James  I  of 
England  and  the  two  lower  one*  hit  tons,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  Charles  I, 
and  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II.  Total  height,  5  feet,  8  inches  ;  width 
over  all,  4  feet,  5  inches.      R.  S. 

Cabinet        ........     6o 

The  upper  part  w  *  cupboud  with  two  doots,  inclosing  thelTcs,  and  the  lower  put  filled 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


with  four  drawers.  It  is  oFoak,  veneered  with  various  woods,  chiefly  walnut,  and  has  in 
several  panels  figured  and  floral  ornament  in  pear  wood  inlaid  in  ebony.  About  1670-80. 
Height,  6  feet,  9  inches  ;  width,  4  feet,  6  inches  ;  depth,  zi^  inches. 

Sections  of  Seventeenth  Century  Cabinet 

Decorations  similar  to  the  English  late  Elizabethan  or  Jacobean  style.  Flemish,  about 
i6zo.     Height,  3  feet,  6  inches;  length,  4  feet,  i  inch  j  width,  i  foot,  8  inches. 

Seventeenth  Century  Oak  Table  w^ith  Extend- 
ing Top  .....  .        . 

Table  and  stool  or  short  bench  ;  the  table  about  1605.  It  is  an  extension  table  ;  the 
top  in  two  pieces  united  by  a  hinge.  The  godrons  noticed  in  the  bedstead  (frontispiece) 
are  here  relieved,  each  upon  its  own  fillet ;  a  kind  of  combination  of  Elizabethan  "  strap- 
ornament"  with  the  Jacobean  reedings.     R.  S. 

Table  with  Three  Flaps  .  .  facing 

Table  with  triangular  top  and  three  leaves.  Its  extremely  small  dimensions  indicated 
its  use  as  an  ornament,  or  perhaps,  as  a  piece  of  furniture  especially  made  for  a  child.  It 
is  entirely  of  oak,  probably  of  English  make,  and  its  simply  turned  legs  seem  to  indicate 
a  date  as  of  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Height,  2  feet;  top,  2  feet,  5  inches 
in  greatest  dimensions  when  the  leaves  are  raised.      R.  S. 

Walnut  Chairs  ...... 

Originally  b:'onging  to  Ralph  Wormeley  of  Virginia.  Now  owned  by  Mrs.  John 
Tayloe  Perrin  of  Baltimore.  (See  page  51.) 

Chair  Showing  the  Renaissance  Influence 

Originally  belonging  to  Colonel  William  Byrd  of  Westover,  now  owned  by  Miss  Elizabeth 
Byrd  Nicholas,  Washington,  D.  C.  The  bick  and  seat  are  stuffed  and  upholstered  in 
velvet.  The  back  legs  terminate  in  the  hoof  form  and  the  front  in  the  ball  and  claw. 
The  leg  curves  outward  from  the  cover  of  the  seat  and  is  boldly  and  gracefully  carved 
with  the  acanthus. 

Black  Oak  Sideboard  .  .  .         facing 

Said  to  have  belonged  to  Lord  Baltimore,  and  to  have  been  brought  by  him  from  England, 
when  it  fell  into  the  possession  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  It  is  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Edward  C.  Pickering  of  the  Observatory,  Cambridge,  Mass.  ( There  seems  to  be 
doubt  as  to  the  authenticity  of  this  piece.  Experts  have  stated  that  it  is  of  a  later 
date  than  that  credited  to  it.  ) 


61 

63 
57 

65 
69 


7° 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  1 


OAKEN   CABINET 

Four  cupboards,  four  drawers. 


The  character  of  the  sculp- 


In  t:to  bodies  with  top  also  separate.     Four  cupboards,  four  drawers.     The  character  of  the  sc 
ture  and  scroll-work  suggests  a  continental  origin  —  probably  Flemish.     Sixteenth  century.. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  I:   Harly  SoutKern 

CARVED  OAK  AND  WALNUT  OF  THE    XVIITH   CENTURY 


^EFORE    describing   the  household   furniture 
used    by   the    early    English    settlers   in    this 

B;^    country,  it  will  be    well  for  us    to    form    a 
V|  clear  idea  of  the  houses  in  which  they  lived. 

r^g  The   First     Plantation    of    one    hundred 

— o— '''^^  gentlemen-adventurers  and  labourers  brought 
with  them  nothing  but  the  bare  necessaries  of  life — 
food,  clothing,  and  tools.  They  wasted  valuable  time  in 
hunting  for  mythical  gold  ore;  and  when  the  First  Supply 
(equally  poorly  provided),  consisting  of  two  ships  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty  persons,  arrived  (1607),  nine  months 
later,  it  found  only  forty  survivors,  and  of  these  "  ten  only 
able  men,  all  utterly  destitute  of  houses,  not  one  as  yet  built, 
so  that  they  lodged  in  cabins  and  holes  within  the  ground."* 
Captain  Newport,  who  was  in  command  of  the  First 
Supply,  had  a  church  and  a  storehouse  built  by  those  under 


*A  Briej'e  DeclaratitH^  etc.  (1615). 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


him,  and  the  cabins  of  Jamestown  were  enclosed  within  a 
palisade.  However,  fire  broke  out  in  the  storehouse  and 
reduced  the  whole  place  to  ashes,  including  the  stockade. 
Fortunately,  the  entire  cargo  had  not  been  landed,  but  aid 
was  badly  needed.  Rebuilding  was  soon  begun ;  church, 
storehouse,  and  forty  houses  of  rafts,  sedge  and  earth  were 
completed  in  1608,  and  twenty  more  houses  were  built  in 

1609.  All  of  these,  however,  were 
hopelessly  decayed  in  1 6 1  o,  as  might  be 
expected  from  their  construction. 

Sir  Thomas  Smith,  who  was  now  in 

charge,  seems  still  to  have  directed  his 

efforts  towards  the  immediate  profit  of 

the  Virginia  Company,  rather  than  the 

safety  of  the  plantation,  should  supplies 

fail.      We  learn  that  the  colonists  were 

"  wholly  employed  in  cutting  down  of 

masts,  cedar,  black    walnut,  clapboard, 

etc.,  and  in  digging  gold  ore  (as  some 

thought),  which,  being  sent  to  England, 

AN  OLD  CHAIR  proved  dirt."      The  Third  Supply,  car- 

rJ:'^:.tX'^:CZ    ^ying  food    and    clothing,  was  sent  in 

::^;TE:;eT:UTntrotd     ^^^^>    ^ut,    as    most  of  the  provisions 

the  lower  curved  edge  of, heseat    ^^j.^  jog^  i^  the  wreck  of  the  principal 

ot  the  chair  and  round  the  edges  r  r 

^f^^^-^i^^-^oi^^ess.    Tbchcnt    ^)^'       jj^    ^j^g   Bermudas,    the    colonists 

and  back  legs  are  similar  in  shape.  i  ' 

The  seat  is  cov«ed  with  pile    ^^j.      ^orse    off    than     ever,    and    the 

needleworlc    of    floral    pattern.  ' 

^LyBlS:^S^^l    dreadful  Starving  Time,  with  its  can- 

nibal  horrors,  followed. 

In  1 610,  Lord  Delaware  arrived  with  some  relief, 
and  was  followed  by  Sir  Thomas  Dale  and  Sir  Thomas 
Gates,  each  with  three  or  four  ships. 

On  taking  charge.  Lord  Delaware  undertook  construe- 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

tions  of  a  less  flimsy  character  than   before,  covering  the 

roofs  with  boards  and  the  sides  with  Indian  mats.      On  his 

departure,  on   account  of  ill-health.   Dale  succeeded  him 

r     and  still   further   improved  the   buildings.      He   erected  a 

;     wooden  church,  storehouses,  and  many  dwellings,  with  the 

f     lower  story  of  brick.      Dale   made  a  law   by  which   every 

arriving   father   with  a  family    was    to   have,   rent    free,    a 

house  of  at   least  four  rooms,  with   twelve  acres  of  fenced 

land,  upon  which  he  must  grow  grain.      Dale's  eflxjrts  bore 

little  fruit ;    the    houses  constantly  fell    to    ruin,  and    Sir 

i     Thomas  Gates  was  no  more  successful   when   he  tried  to 

rejuvenate  the  town  ;  for  when  Argoll   took   command,  in 

1617,  only  five  or  six    habitations  were    standing.      The 

other  settlements  had  fared  no  better. 

In  1619,  **  arrived  Sir  George  Yardley  to  be  Governor. 
For  forts,  towns  and  plantations,  he  found  these :  James 
City,  Henrico,  Charles  City  and  Hundred,  Shirley  Hun- 
dred, Arrahattock,  Martin  Brandon  and  Kicoughton,  all 
which  were  but  poorly  housed  and  as  ill-fortified  ;  for  in 
James  City  were  only  those  houses  that  Sir  Thomas  Gates 
built  in  the  time  of  his  government,  with  one  wherein  the 
Governor  always  dwelt,  an  addition  being  made  thereto  in 
the  time  of  Captain  Samuel  Argoll,  and  a  church,  built  of 
timber,  being  fifty  foot  in  length  and  twenty  foot  in 
breadth  ;  at  Paspahayes  also  were  some  few  slight  houses 
built ;  at  Henrico,  two  or  three  old  houses,  a  poor,  ruin- 
ated Church,  with  some  few  poor  buildings  in  the  island ; 
Coxen  Dale  and  the  Maine,  and  at  Arrahattock  one  house  ; 
at  Charles  City,  six  houses,  much  decayed,  and  that  we 
may  not  be  too  tedious,  as  these,  so  were  the  rest  of  the 
places  furnished."* 

♦if  Brit/t  Deciaratiom,  etc.  (1615). 

S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Amid  the  struggles  and  miseries  of  all  these  years,  we 
may  conclude  that  there  was  no  temptation  to  import  good 
furniture  ;   and  that   made  by  the  resident  carpenters  and 

joiners    would    be  of  the   barest  de- 
scription. 

We  find  evidence  in  the  records 
that  measures  were  taken  to  substi- 
tute substantial  structures  for  the 
"poor  ruinated"  churches  referred 
to  in  the  Briefe  Declaration.  At  the 
first  vestry  meeting  of  the  church 
in  Northampton  County,  Va.,  Sep- 
tember 29,  1635,  it  was  resolved  to 
build  a  "parsonage  house  upon  the 
Glybe  land  by  Christyde  next,  and 
that  the  syd  house  shall  be  forty  foot 
long  and  eighteen  foot  wide,  nyne 
foot  to  the  wall  plates  ;  and  that  ther 
shall  be  a  chimney  at  each  end  of  the 
house,  and  upon  each  syde  of  the 
chimneys  a  room,  the  one  for  a 
study,  the  other  for  a  buttery;  alsoe 
a  partition  neere  the  midst  of  the 
house,  with  an  entry  and  tow  doors, 
the  one  to  go  into  the  Kitchinge,  the 
other  into  the  Chamber." 

In  1622,  the  Indian  massacre 
practically  wiped  out  the  outlying 
settlements,  and  the  next  year  Jamestown  contained  only 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  individuals.  However,  the 
successful  planting  of  tobacco  in  Virginia  in  161 2  had 
insured    the  permanent   settlement  of  the   colony    through 

6 


I7TH  CENTURY  CHAIR 
Painted,  high  back  with  top 
rail  carved  and  pierced  over  a  long 
panel  rounded  at  top  and  bottom. 
The  seat  is  a  plain  frame  filled  in 
with  the  original  cane  webbing. 
The  legs  are  carved  with  projecting 
knees  and  feet  turned  outward.  A 
carvod  and  pierced  rail  joins  the  two 
front  legs.  The  orniment  is  of 
scrolls  and  foliage.  Owned  by  Mrs. 
McClure.     See  page  48. 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY  CHAIRS 

The  chair  on  the  left  is  said  to  have  been  used  by  Charles  II.      The  one  on  the  right  nuas  onuned 
by  Robert  Proud,  historian.      Both  specimens  are  in  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

almost  any  calamity.  In  1623,  George  Sandys  wrote  home 
to  the  authorities  that  the  massacre  had  produced  one  good 
result  in  making  the  people  live  closer  together  for  mu- 
tual protection,  and  would  induce  them  to  build  frame 
houses.  However,  they  soon  scattered  again,  and,  a  year 
or  two  later,  Ciovernor  Butler  testified,  from  personal 
observation,  that  the  meanest  English  cottages  were  more 
sightly  and  comfortable  than  the  best  dwellings  in  Vir- 
ginia, which  were  the  worst  in  the  world.  This,  how- 
ever, was  denied  by  the  Governor  and  Council  of  the 
Colony.  The  buildings  undoubtedly  gradually  improved 
thenceforward,  and  the  log  cabin  gave  way  to  the  framed 
house.  The  latter  usually  had  no  cellar,  but  rested  on 
sills ;  and  had  a  brick  chimney  at  one  and  sometimes  both 
ends.  After  the  arrival  o{  Governor  Berkeley,  in  1642, 
brick  entered  more  largely  into  the  construction  of  the 
houses.  In  Jamestown,  town  lots  were  granted  on  condi- 
tion of  building  a  brick  dwelling  with  a  cellar,  measuring 
sixteen  feet  by  twenty-four,  but  for  long  afterwards  the 
dwelling  of  the  ordinary  planter  had  only  the  tirst  story 
and  chimney  of  brick. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  examine  the  contents  of  the 
dwellings  previous  to  1650. 

In  the  latter  year,  E.  Williams,  in  Firginia  Truly  Valued, 
gives  a  list  of  "Necessaries  for  planters."  Here  we  rind 
little  more  than  the  Company  provided  its  servants  with  at 
the  rirst  settlement.  There  is  a  list  of  "Armes"  and 
•*Tooles";  and  then  comes  "Aparell,"  under  which  head 
we  rind  **  Canvase  to  make  sheets,  with  Bed  and  Bolster  to 
till  |rillr|  in  Virginia,  i  Rugge  and  Blankets."  Last  comes 
•*  Household  stuffe,"  including  "one  great  Iron  Pot,  large 
and  small   kettles,  Skellets,  P>ying  Pannes,  Gridiron,  Spit, 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Platters,  Dishes,  Spoons,  Knives."  Thus  they  took  no 
furniture  with  them.  The  inventories,  moreover,  show 
that  the  dwellings  were  almost  bare.  Thus,  in  1637, 
Adam  Lindsay,  of  York,  died  possessed  of  only  "one  fflock 
bed  and  covering,"  valued  at  80  pounds  in  a  total  of  2036 
pounds  tobacco.  In  the  same  year,  Anthony  Panton's 
estate  was  appraised  at  1070  pounds  tobacco,  and  here  we 
find  only  **  one  bed-board,  one  brush,  one  chest."  In  1638, 
"Edward  Bateman,  carpenter  of  St.  Maries,"  possessed  a 
boat,  tools,  two  bands,  a  tinderbox,  a  brush,  a  rope^  an  old 
doublet,  a  bearskin  and  a  chest.  These  were  valued  at  345 
pounds  tobacco.  These  instances  are  typical  of  servants 
who  had  served  their  indentures,  and  reveal  an  almost 
incredible  lack  of  household  furniture  ;  and  yet  the  inven- 
tory of  the  estate  of  "  Justinian  Snow,  late  of  St.  Mary's, 
planter,"  May  24,  1639,  shows  a  most  modest  state  of 
luxury,  although  he  was  one  of  the  richest  planters  in 
Maryland.  In  addition  to  knives,  nails,  smoothing-irons, 
tools,  spades,  pins,  line,  thread,  ribbon,  stuff,  "  friz,"  can- 
vas, buttons,  hooks  and  eyes,  shot,  nets  and  lines,  boats, 
weapons,  trunks,  chests,  wearing  apparel  in  all  stages  of 
decay,  pipes,  beads,  household  linen,  provisions,  cooking 
utensils  and  live  stock,  we  find  only : 

Tobacco 

2  Looking-glasses 0040 

3  dozen  of  trenchers 0006 

One  bed  standing  in  the  Parlor  ....  0500 
The  Bedde  and  the  Appurtenances  in  the 

littell  Parlor 0250 

a  parcell  of  Bookes 0010 

A  parcell  of  odd  household  stuff  .  .  .  0100 
3  kettells  a  chest  and  Chayer  wt  other  house- 

holde  stuff 0100 

the    Beddinge    Chest    and     tubbs    in     the 

Chamber 0160 

i 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  total  inventory  amounted  to  29,766  pounds  tobacco, 
and  tobacco  was  then  ^^3  19s.  lod.  per  hundred  pounds. 

The  looking-glasses  would  cost  about  $20  each  in 
present  money.  At  this  date,  1639,  looking-glasses  were 
found  in  very  few  houses,  even  in  England,  though,  of 
course,  metal  mirrors  were  common  enough.  There  they 
did  not  come  into  general  use  until  after  the  Restoration, 
in  1660.  They  were  imported  from  Venice.  As  we  shall 
see,  the  looking-glass  with  gilded  or  olive-wood  frame  is 
frequently  mentioned  henceforward.  The  olive-wood  alone 
would  show  its  Italian  origin.  Though  anticipating  some- 
what, it  may  be  as  well  to  note  here  that  looking-glasses 
were  small  in  the  seventeenth  and  early  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  When  they  exceeded  four  feet  in  length 
or  breadth  they  were  made  up  of  separate  pieces,  gener- 
ally with  gilt  mouldings  at  the  divisions.  When  of  Eng- 
lish make,  they  came  from  the  Vauxhall  factory,  founded 
by  the  second  Duke  of  Buckingham,  that  "  chemist,  states- 
man, fiddler,  and  buffoon,"  who  introduced  workmen  from 
Venice  to  teach  the  art  of  making  plate-glass,  bevelling, 
etc.  Early  examples  of  mirrors  are  plentiful,  and  show 
that  the  frames  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury were  of  oak,  sometimes  ornamented  with  carving  and 
narrow  bands,  inlaid  with  small  alternate  light  and  dark 
squares  of  wood,  the  stand  consisting  of  baluster-shaped 
uprights  and  claw  feet.  The  looking-glass  was  sometimes 
fixed  on  the  top  of  a  chest  of  drawers.  Besides  the  woods 
mentioned  above,  the  looking-glass  frame  was  sometimes 
formed  of  ebony.  In  1653,  we  find  Stephen  Gill,  in  Vir- 
ginia, in  possession  of  one  of  this  material. 

The  trenchers,  of  which  Mr.  Snow  possessed  three  dozen, 
were  wooden  platters,  the  name  being  derived  from  the 
French  tranche y  a  slice,  when  the  platter  was  a  slice  of  bread. 

9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  "household  stufF,"  mentioned  in  Mr.  Snow's 
inventory,  undoubtedly  included  rough  tables  and  benches. 
The  "bed  standing  in  the  parlour"  must  have  been  a 
respectable  article  of  furniture,  since  its  value  is  set  down 
at  five  times  that  of  three  kettles,  the  chest,  the  chair,  and 
other  household  stuff.  The  500  pounds  of  tobacco  repre- 
sented at  least  $500  in  present  money  at  the  valuation 
given.  Thus  we  may  conclude  that  the  bed  was  a  luxuri- 
ous piece  of  furniture. 

Our  ancestors  liked  to  lie  soft,  and,  therefore,  the 
feather  bed  is  ever  in  evidence,  or,  in  default  of  that,  the 
flock  bed.  The  importance  of  the  bed  during  the  period 
of  which  we  are  treating  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
The  "bed"  is  sometimes  mentioned  apart  from  the  bed- 
stead, but  frequently  the  word  is  used  to  include  the  bed- 
stead and  all  its  furnishings,  as  it  manifestly  is  in  the  inven- 
tory under  consideration.  We  may  pause  here  to  describe 
the  beds  that  had  been  used  in  England  for  many  centuries, 
and  were  still  in  favour  there. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  Europe  the  bed-cham- 
ber was  a  room  of  great  importance,  for  kings  and  queens 
received  their  courtiers  in  theii  sleeping  apartments.  The 
heavy,  imposing  four-poster  was  made  a  thing  of  beauty, 
as  well  as  luxury.  The  framework  was  often  superbly 
carved,  while  the  bed  was  of  softest  down,  the  sheets  of 
finest  linen,  the  blankets  fine,  and  the  outer  covering  of 
cloth  of  gold,  samite,  damask,  or  some  other  costly  mate- 
rial, richly  embroidered  in  heraldic  devices,  or  with  some 
appropriate  emblem.      For  example,  Shaw  tells  us: 

"Thomas  de  Mussendun,  by  will  dated  20th  July, 
1402,  bequeaths  to  his  wife  a  bed,  with  a  coverlet  made 
of  velvet  and  sattin,  and  paned  with  ermine  in  stripes  or 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

borders."  In  1356,  Elizabeth,  Countess  of  Northampton, 
bequeaths  to  her  daughter  a  bed  of  red  worsted  and  em- 
broidered. In  1409,  Elizabeth,  Lady  Despenser,  does  the 
same;  as  does  Lady  Elizabeth  Andrews  in  1474.  King 
Edward  the  Third,  in  i  377,  leaves  to  Richard,  son  of  the 
Black  Prince,  "an  entire  bed  marked  with  the  arms 
of  France  and  Eng- 
land, now  in  our 
palace  of  Westmin- 
ster." Humphrey  de 
Bohun,  Earl  of  Here- 
ford, wills,  in  I  361, 
to  his  niece  a  bed  with 
the  arms  of  England. 
Agnes,  Countess  of 
Pembroke,  in  i  367, 
gives  to  her  daughter 
**a  bed,  with  the  fur- 
niture of  her  father's 
arms"  ;  and  William, 
Lord  Ferrers  of  Gro- 
by,  in  1 368,  leaves 
to  his  son  "  my  green 
bed,  with  my  arms 
thereon";  and  to  his  daughter  **  my  white  bed,  and  all 
the  furniture  with  the  arms  of  Ferrers  and  Ufford 
thereon."  Edward  the  Black  Prince,  in  1376,  makes 
bequests  **  to  our  son  Richard,  the  bed  which  the  King 
our  father  gave  us :  to  Sir  Roger  de  Clarendon,  a  silk 
bed:  to  Sir  Robert  de  Walsham,  our  confessor,  a  large 
bed  of  red  camora,  with  our  arms  embroidered  at  each 
corner,  also    embroidered    with   the    arms    of    Hereford: 


TABLE   WITH   TWO  FLAPS 

(Oak,  oval ;  the  new  top  stands  on  six  baluster-shaped  legs, 
two  of  which  move  in  sockets  to  support  the  flaps.  A  frame* 
work  of  plain  bars  strengthens  the  legs,  and  on  one  side  is  a  long 
drawer  with  carved  front.  17th  century.  Height,  2  ft.  4'j  in. 
Top,  1  ft.  9  in.  by  a  ft.  7  in. ) 


II 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

to  Mons.  Alayne  Cheyne,  our  bed  of  camora,  powdered 
with  blue  eagles."  His  widow,  in  1385,  gives  "  to  my  dear 
son,  the  King  [Richard  the  Second],  my  new  bed  of  red  vel- 
vet, embroidered  with  ostrich  feathers  of  silver  and  heads 
of  leopards  of  gold,  with  boughs  and  leaves  issuing  out  of 
their  mouths :  to  my  dear  son,  Thomas,  Earl  of  Kent,  my 
bed  of  red  camak,  paied  with  red  and  rays  of  gold :  to  my 
dear  son,  John  Holland,  a  bed  of  red  camak."  In  1368, 
Robert,  Earl  of  Suffolk,  bequeaths  his  **  bed  with  the 
eagles";  Sir  Walter  Manney,  in  1371,  "all  my  beds  and 
dossers  [dossers  were  put  at  the  backs  of  chairs  and  tables] 
in  my  wardrobe,  excepting  my  folding  bed,  paly  of  blue 
and  red"  ;  and  Edmund,  Earl  of  March,  **  our  large  bed 
of  black  satin,  embroidered  with  white  lions  and  gold 
roses,  with  escutcheons  of  the  arms  of  Mortimer  and 
Ulster,"  in  1380.  Margaret,  Countess  of  Devon,  in  1391, 
leaves  to  her  son  Peter,  "my  bed  of  red  and  green  paly"; 
Richard,  Earl  of  Arundel,  in  1392,  to  his  wife,  Philippa, 
"a  blue  bed  marked  with  my  arms  and  the  arms  of  my 
late  wife,  also  the  hangings  of  the  hall,  which  were  lately 
made  in  London,  of  blue  tapestry  with  red  roses,  with  the 
arms  of  my  sons,  the  Earl  Marshall,  Lord  Charlton,  and 
Mons.  Willm  Beauchamp;  to  my  son  Richard,  a  standing 
bed,  called  Clove ;  also  a  bed  of  silk,  embroidered  with  the 
arms  of  Arundel  and  Warren ;  also,  to  my  said  son,  the 
hangings  of  the  large  hall,  of  the  arms  of  Arundel  and 
Warren  quarterly :  to  my  dear  son  Thomas,  my  blue 
bed  of  silk,  embroidered  with  griffins:  to  my  daughter 
Charlton,  my  bed  of  red  silk :  to  my  daughter  Margaret, 
my  blue  bed."  Sir  John  Cobham,  in  1394,  "a  red  bed 
embroidered  with  lions,  also  a  bed  of  Norwich  stuff  em- 
broidered with  butterflies"  ;  and  Alice,  Lady  West,in  1  395, 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"a  bed  paled  black  and  white"  and  "a  bed  of  tapiter's 
work."  John,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  in  1 397,  disposes  of 
"my  large  bed  of  black  velvet,  embroidered  with  a  circle 
of  fetter-locks  [the  badge  of  the  house  of  Lancaster]  and 
garters,  and  the  beds  made  for  my  body,  called  in  England 
trussing  beds,  my  white  bed  of  silk  with  blue  eagles 
displayed";  and  Thomas,  Earl  of  Warwick,  in  1400,  "a 
bed  of  silk,  embroidered  with  bears  and  my  arms  with  all 
thereto  appertaining."  In  141 1,  Joanne,  Lady  Hunger- 
ford,  leaves  "a  green  bed  embroidered  with  one  grey- 
hound"; and  in  141 5,  Edward,  Duke  of  York,  "my  bed 
of  feathers  and  leopards,  with  the  furniture  appertaining  to 
the  same;  also,  my  white  and  red  tapestry  of  garters,  fetter- 
locks, and  falcons  [badge  of  the  house  of  York],  my  green 
bed,  embroidered  with  a  compas."  In  1434,  Joanne, 
Lady  Bergavenny,  devises  "a  bed  of  gold  swans,  with 
tapettar  of  green  tapestry,  with  branches  and  flowers  of 
divers  colours,  and  two  pair  of  sheets  of  Raynes,  a  pair 
of  fustians,  six  pairs  of  other  sheets,  six  pairs  of  blankets, 
six  mattresses,  six  pillows,  and  with  cushions  and  bann- 
coves  that  longen  to  the  bed  aforesaid ;  a  bed  of  cloth  of 
gold  with  lebardes,  with  those  cushions  and  tapettes  of  my 
best  red  worsted  that  belong  to  the  same  bed,  and  ban- 
cours  and  formers  that  belong  to  the  same  bed;  also,  four 
pairs  of  sheets,  four  pairs  of  blankets,  three  pillows,  and 
three  mattresses;  a  bed  of  velvet,  white  and  black  paled, 
with  cushions,  tapettes,  and  formez  that  belong  to  the  same 
bed,  three  pairs  of  sheets,  three  pairs  of  blankets,  three  pil- 
lows, and  three  mattresses;  a  bed  of  blue  baudekyn  (the 
richest  kind  of  stuff,  the  web  being  gold  and  the  woof 
silk,  with  embroidery),  with  cushions,  tapettes  of  blue 
worsted,  the  formez    that   belong  to  the    same   bed,   four 

«t 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


pairs  of  sheets,  four  pairs  of  blankets,  four  pillows,  and 
four  mattresses;  my  bed  of  silk,  black  and  red,  embroid- 
ered with  woodbined  flowers  of  silver,  and  all  the  costers 
and  apparel  that  belongeth  thereto,  twelve  pairs  of  sheets, 
of  the  best  cloth  that  I  have  save  Raynes,  six  pairs  of 
blankets,  and   a  pane  of  menyver;   and   my  best  black  bed 

of  silk,  with  all  the  apparel  of  a 
chamber,  of  the  best  black  tapetter 
that  I  have,  six  pairs  of  sheets," 
etc.  The  pane  of  minever  or  fur 
was  succeeded  by  the  counterpane 
(see  page  17).  Raynes  sheeting 
was  a  linen  fabric  originating  at 
Rennes.  It  will  be  noticed  in 
the  above  that  one  bed  is  called 
"Clove."  It  was  a  practice  to 
name  beds  in  the  Tudor  period ; 
for  example,  Wolsey  had  one  called 
**  Infantilege  "  and  another  called 
"  The  Sun." 

Camak  was  a  fabric,  of  silk 
and  fine  camel's-hair,  sometimes 
called  also  camoca.     Bancours  (Ger- 

four  bais  on  each  side.    Cabriole-shaped  i    •       i        /- 

legs.    Lent  by  c.  H.  Talbot,  Lacock     man,  odnk  wercj,  a  kmd  of  tapestry. 

"Green  and  red  paly"  is  the 
heraldic  term  for  vertical,  equal  alternate  stripes  of  those 
colours. 

The  heads  of  the  most  ornate  bedsteads  were  frequently 
carved.  Sometimes  grotesque  figures  were  employed  on 
each  side  to  hold  the  curtains  when  they  were  drawn  back. 
Frequently  shelves  were  placed  in  the  headboard,  an  old 
custom,  for  Chaucer  alludes  to  them  when,  in  speaking  of 

»4 


I  8th    century    WINDSOR 

ARMCHAIR 

Bir>  h  ;    the  back    is    formed  by  a 

curved  top  rail,  a  curved  central  panel, 

two  straight  pieces  and  spindle-shaped 

bars.     The  flat  arm  rail  is  supported  by 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the   studious   taste   of   the    scholar    in    The   Gierke  s    Tale^ 
he  says  : 

"  Ftr  him  was  Itber  han  at  his  beddes  hedy 
A  twenty  bakes  clothed  in  black  or  red." 

On  this  narrow  shelf  were  placed  medicine  bottles, 
books,  and  candlesticks,  and  occasionally  a  secret  cupboard. 
In  some  cases  these  cupboards  contained  a  shrine.  Reli- 
gious sentiment  was  always  bestowed  upon  the  bed  in 
mediaeval  days,  for  not  only  were  angels  and  cherubs  dis- 
posed about  the  canopy  or  tester  and  the  carvings  Biblical 
or  allegorical,  but  people  taught  their  children  this  rhyme: 

**  AlattheWy  Marky  Luke^  and  John^ 
Bless  the  bed  that   I  lie  on  ; 
Four  corners  to  my  hed^ 
Four  angels  round  my  head; 
God  within^   God  without^ 
Blessed  fesu  all  about.** 

Another  version  is  as  follows : 

**  MattheWy  Marky  Luke^  and  John^ 
Bless  the  bed  that  I  sleep  on^ 
Two  angels  at  my  head^ 
Four  angels  round  my  bed ; 
Two  to  watch  and  two  to  pray^ 
And  two  to  carry  my  soul  away" 

Sometimes  the  central  panel  of  the  bedstead  had  a 
secret  spring  so  that  it  could  be  used  as  a  means  of  escape 
into  the  adjoining  chamber  or  into  a  secret  passage.  Also 
cupboards  were  sometimes  concealed  artfully  in  the  bases 
of  the  footposts,  which  were  often  ten  or  fourteen  inches 
square. 

The  "  sixteen-post "  bedstead  had  five  small  posts  on 
the  two  footposts,  which  count  as  twelve,  and  the  two 
headposts  as  two  each. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


The  famous  "  Great  Bed  of  Ware,"  still  in  existence,  is 
one  of  these.  This  is  seven  feet  six  inches  high,  ten  feet 
nine  inches  long,  and  ten  feet  nine  inches  wide. 

In  olden  times  the 
mattresses  of  the  beds 
rested  upon  ropes,  which 
were  laced  from  side  to 
side,  and  these  ropes  were 
in  time  succeeded  by  a 
"sacking  bottom"  that 
could  be  stretched  as 
tightly  as  was  needed. 

These  beds,  in  a  more 
or  less  elaborate  form, 
still  existed  during  the 
seventeenth  century,  and 
our  forefathers  in  the 
Southern  States  regarded 
them  with  great  affec- 
tion. 

We  know  that  the 
wealthy  English  planters 
of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia set  quite  as  much 
store  by  their  beds  as 
they  did  at  home.  We 
have  evidence  of  this  in 
the  wills,  as  well  as  in  the  prices  at  which  these  articles  of 
furniture  were  appraised. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  beds  were  quite  luxurious,  and, 
in  families  who  were  at  all  comfortably  situated,  the  cur- 
tains  and   valance    always    appear.       Against    the    strong 

i6 


CHAIR  OF  WALNUT 
(The  back  is  composed  of  two  rows  of  arcades,  and 
the  legs  are   baluster-shaped.      Flemish;    dated  1678. 
From  original  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum.) 


AN   OLD   MIRROR 

Glass  in   oak  framt  'with  carvtd  scroll  outline  and  narrotv  bands  inlaid  ivitb  small  squares  of  ivoodf 

alternately  light  and  dark.      The  uprights  and  feet  of  the  stand  are  baluster-shaped.      English. 

The  frame  dated  l6oj,  but  the  glass  nineteenth  century.      Height,  %fi.^yi  in.;  tuidtbt  14  >i  in. 


SMALL  CHEST  AND  TABLE  OF  OAK 

Both  of  these  pieces  have  been  painted.      The  table  is  car'veJ  in  high  relief  round  the  sides  of  the  framing,  luitb 
heavj  baluster  legs,  car-ved  and  fluted.      Dated  1622.      The  chest  is  Dutch  in  design  and  pattern. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

draughts  the  valance,  derived  from  the  French  avaler^  to 
let  down,  was  always  of  the  same  material  as  the*  curtains. 
Bright  colours  were  preferred  to  white.  The  favourite 
materials  were :  drugget,  a  cloth  of  wool,  or  wool  mixed 
with  silk;  serge,  another  woolen  cloth,  frequently  scarlet 
in  hue;  green  and  flowered  Kitterminster,  or  Kiddermin- 
ster ;  coarse  linsey-woolsey  ;  and  dimity,  a  stout  linen  cloth, 
originally  made  at  Damietta,  interwoven  with  patterns. 

Another  material  is  darnick  (see  inventory  of  Nicholas 
Wyatt,  page  60).  This  was  a  coarse  kind  of  damask,  origi- 
nally made  at  Dorneck  (the  Dutch  name  forTournay).  It  is 
also  applied  to  certain  kinds  of  table  linen,  and  "silke  dor- 
nex"  also  occurs.  Perpetuana  was  a  woolen  fabric  that 
received  its  name  because  of  its  durable  qualities.  Ben 
Jonson  mentions  it  in  Cynthia  s  Revels  (i  601),  and  Dekker 
in  Satiromastix  (1602).  Calico  was  originally  a  somewhat 
coarse  cotton  fabric.  As  we  know,  it  took  its  name  from 
Calicut  in  India,  where  it  was  first  manufactured.  We 
find  many  examples  of  calico  curtains  that  were  printed 
with  variously  coloured  floral  and  other  designs. 

Before  finishing  with  the  bed,  we  may  mention  that 
the  "counterpoint,"  or  "counterpane,"  was  so  called  from 
its  being  worked  in  square  or  diamond-shaped  figures. 
Shaw  says  that  the  pane  of  minever  or  fur  was  succeeded 
by  the  counterpane,  i.  e.,  one  that  was  contrepointe^  or 
having  knotted  threads  stitched  through.  He  derives  the 
word  from  the  Latin  pannum^  a  cloth,  a  garment,  a  rag. 

The  beds  were  sometimes  the  cause  of  dispute.  Thus 
the  Maryland  Provincial  Court  had  to  settle  one  in  1642. 
"  Edward  hall  demandeth  of  mr.  John  Langford,  Esq.  500 
lb.  tob.  for  damage  for  non-pformance  of  a  bargaine  for  the 
delivery  of  a   flockbed   and  a  rug,  the  said  mr.  Langford 

«7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

denieth  the  non  performance."  The  plaintiff  got  judg- 
ment for-  loo  pounds  tobacco,  and  the  "  Secretary  adjudged 
one  of  the  bedds  to  be  delivered  that  ffrancis  the  carpenter 
or  John  Greenwell  lay  upon  at  Pinie  neck  within  7  daies 
or  els  100  lb.  tob." 

The  settlers  soon  found  a  native  substitute  when  they 
could  get  neither  feathers  nor  flock.  The  latter  was  wool, 
or  ravelled  woollen  material.  In  1645,  John  Eaton, 
of  York  County,  Virginia,  died  possessed  of  an  "old 
bed  stuffed  with  cattayles  and  old  rugg,"  and  nothing  else 
in  the  nature  of  furniture.  Cat-tail  beds  and  cat-tail  mixed 
with  feathers  are  frequently  found  in  the  inventories  after 
this.  In  1685,  for  example,  we  find  John  Clayborn  with 
a  canvas  bed  filled  with  cat-tails  and  turkey  feathers. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  we  are  still  in  the  period 
prior  to  the  Renaissance,  which  is  just  about  to  dawn  in 
France.  The  prevailing  furniture  has  no  graceful  curves, 
and  depends  almost  entirely  on  carving  for  its  decorative 
effects  and  on  cushions  for  its  comfort.  Many  a  Virginian 
planter's  house  has  the  atmosphere  of  an  Elizabethan  manor 
house.  We  feel  that  English  homes  have  been  trans- 
planted, but  have  suffered  no  change.  This  will  appear 
more  clearly  from  a  consideration  of  the  household  posses- 
sions of  Thomas  Deacon,  of  York  County,  Virginia,  in  1 647. 

We  may  pause  here  to  consider  the  general  character- 
istics of  the  furniture  of  this  period,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  Elizabethan  and  Jacobean. 

There  is  not  any  radical  difl^erence  in  the  two  styles 
prevalent  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  as  an 
English  authority  thus  explains  :  "  When  the  Stuart  period 
succeeded  the  Tudor,  it  retained  the  latter's  general  charac- 
teristics, but  the  forms  of  carving  grew  heavier  and  the 

18 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

execution  coarser.  The  table  legs,  baluster  newels,  and 
cabinet  supports  had  enormous  acorn-shaped  masses  in  the 
legs  in  the  middle.  The  great  hall  tables,  instead  of  being 
moveable  on  trestles,  became  of  unwieldy  size  and  weight. 
The  scroll-work  had  been  bold  but  light,  and  the  general 
surface  of  important  mouldings  or  dividing  members  not 
cut  up  by  the  ornamentation.  The  panels  were  generally 
covered  with  graceful  figure  subjects,  commonly  Biblical. 
As  the  years  advanced  into  the  seventeenth  century,  Flem- 
ish work  became  bigger  and  less  refined.  Diamond-shaped 
panels  were  superimposed  on  square  ones,  turned  work  was 
split  and  laid  on,  drop  ornaments  were  added  below  tables, 
and  from  the  centres  of  the  arches  of  arched  panels — all 
unnecessary  additions  and  encumbrances.  The  Jacobean 
style  had  borrowed  its  style  of  carving  from  the  Flemish. 
The  Flemings  and  the  Dutch  had  long  imported  wood- 
work into  England,  and  to  this  commerce  we  may  trace 
the  greater  likeness  between  the  late  Flemish  Renaissance 
carving  and  corresponding  English  woodwork  than  between 
the  English  and  the  French.  Though  allied  to  the  Flem- 
ish, Dutch  designs  in  furniture  were  swelled  out  into 
enormous  proportions."* 

One  of  the  patterns  characteristic  of  the  period  is  the 
"  interlaced  strapwork."  This  is  made  by  sinking  the 
groundwork  a  quarter  of  an  inch  below  the  surface.  Fre- 
quently this  strapwork  is  used  to  encircle  the  coat-of-arms, 
which  the  Elizabethan  carvers  were  fond  of  introducing  on 
bed,  chest,  cabinet,  chair,  and,  in  short,  wherever  an  oppor- 
tunity was  afforded. 

In  almost  every  case,  hammered  iron  was  used  for  the 
furniture-mounts,  i.  e.,  lock-plates,  hinges,  and  handles. 

•W.  H.  PoUen. 

19 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Not  only  are  these  hints 
as  to  the  general  appearance 
of  the  Elizabethan  and  Jacob- 
ean furniture,  but  the  knobs, 
and  bosses,  and  panels,  cut 
in  the  shape  of  diamonds 
and  lozenges,  suggest  the  art 
of  the  lapidary  in  their  facet- 
like effects,  and  the  constant 
use  of  the  table-cut  facet  and 
the  symmetrical  arrange- 
ment of  the  ornaments  are 
not  unlike  the  work  pro- 
duced by  the  tailors  and 
dressmakers  of  the  period  in 
gowns  and  doublets. 

However,    in     England, 

during  the  reign  of  Charles 

II    and    James    II     (1660— 

1690),  although  French  fur- 

u  YA  H^^m^       niture  was  being  sent  across 

^^M  iH       the  Channel,  the  carved  oak 

furniture  still  lingered,  es- 
pecially in  country  houses, 
where  fine  specimens  may 
be  sfeen  to-day. 

"The  material  of  which 
the  old  furniture  was  constructed,"  says  William  Bliss 
Sanders,*  "  was,  almost  without  exception,  good  English 
oak,   than  which    few  woods  offer   greater   advantages   to 


I7TH  CENTURY  CHAIR  OF  OAK 
(The  panels  of  the  back  are  carved  with   floral 
ornament  and  the  arms  of  Thomas  Wentworth, 
first  Earl  of  Strafford.      From  the  original  in  the 
South  Kensington  Museum. ) 


*  Examples  of  Carued  Oak  IVoodiJuork   in   the  Houses  and  Furniture  of  the  Six- 
teenth and  Seventeenth    Centuries  (London,  1883). 


THE  FURISITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

the  cabinet  maker,  from  the  beauty  of  its  colour  and 
markings,  its  suitability  for  most  domestic  purposes,  and 
its  strength  and  durability.  Nor  was  any  labour  or  ex- 
pense spared  by  our  ancestors  in  giving  to  the  English 
wood  the  full  advantage  of  its  natural  good  qualities. 
Instead  of  sawing  the  timber  required  for  paneling  into 
thin  parallel  pieces  (as  is  now  done  with  the  view  of 
saving  the  timber),  it  was  the  old  custom  to  rive  the 
wood  used  for  this  purpose.  This  made  it  impossible  to 
use  any  but  the  best  parts  of  the  tree,  viz.:  that  portion 
of  it  which  grew  between  the  ground  and  the  commencement 
of  its  branches.  After  the  knots  began  to  appear — which, 
as  the  feeders  of  the  branches,  follow  their  direction  to 
the  heart  of  the  tree — the  planks  could  no  longer  be  riven. 
Evidence  of  the  custom  of  riving  the  wood  may  be  found 
in  the  woodwork  of  most  old  buildings,  where  the  panels 
may  often  be  seen  inserted  in  the  framing  in  the  wedge- 
like  form  in  which  they  were  riven.  In  these  cases,  a 
thick  shaving  was  cut  off  the  thicker  edge  of  the  panel  to 
make  it  thin  enough  to  fit  into  a  narrow  groove  in  the 
framing  formed  to  receive  it — one  side  of  the  panel  being 
wrought  fair,  and  the  other  generally  left  rough,  as  riven. 
A  certain  quantity  of  foreign  oak  was  also  imported  for 
cabinet-work  at  this  time,  but  this  was  chiefly  for  the  use 
of  the  wealthier  classes,  and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
oak  used  in  the  houses  of  the  country  squires  and  well-to- 
do  yeomen  was  cut  from  trees  of  English  growth.  Many 
of  the  larger  pieces  of  furniture,  indeed,  were  not  unfre- 
quently  put  together  in  the  rooms  they  were  destined  to 
occupy,  and  constructed  of  oak  grown  upon  the  estate  to 
which  the  house  belonged." 

And  now  let  us  see  what  Thomas  Deacon  owned. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

His  house  seems  to  have  contained  only  two  rooms, 
though  he  was  by  no  means  poor. 

In  the  Hall. 

lb.  tob. 

One  long  framed  table  and  forme  and  a  stript 

Carpet,  ......       200 

One  short  framed  table  and  one  low  forme 
and  carpet,  one  old  cort  cubbert  and  small 
carpett,  .         .         .         .         .         .100 

One  long  wainscott  settle  a  wainscott  cheare 
an  old  turned  couch  4  old  joynt  stools  and 
trundle  bedstead,    .....       200 

In  the  Chamber. 

One  frame  table  and  carpet,  a  framed  couch 
and  old  cort  cubbert  and  a  carpet  and  a 
very  old  chair,         .....       200 

Four  old  chests,  2  old  trunks  5  old  cases  and 

2  small  boxes,         .....       200 

Two  feather  beds  and  appurtenances   incld 

curtains  and  vallence,       ....       500 

2  old  bedsteads  3  old  certains  and  vallence 
one  couch  flock  bed  another  couch  bed  of 
cattails  and  two  old  coverings,  a  frame  table 
and  form,        .         .         .         .         .  -       35^ 

(dishes,  plates,  spoons,  plate,  &c.)        .         .       400 

(Cooking  utensils,  etc.)        ....       900 

(pans,  kettles,  andirons,  tools,  etc.)       .         .      1000 

The  court  cupboard  mentioned  in  the  above  inventory 
and  long  used  in  England  was  a  kind  of  sideboard  or  cabi- 
net, composed  of  light,  movable  shelves,  Plate  was  gen- 
erally displayed  upon  it.  We  read  in  Romeo  and  Juliet 
(1578)  :  "Remove  the  court  cupboard,  look  to  the  plate;" 
in  Chapman's  Mons.  D' Olive  (1606):  "Here  shall  stand 
my    court   cupboard  with    its  furniture  of  plate;"   and  in 


BUTTER  CUPBOARD   OF   OAK 

h  ttvo  parts.      Tb*  tipper  portioM  has  two  doors  JivUtd  ty  a  framed  panel.       The  doors  and  framimg  are 

incised  luith  conventional  designs.     At  the  sides  there  are  perforations  to  admit  air  to  the  inside  of  the 

cupboard.      The  lonver  part  of  the  cupboard  is  also  carved.     About  1620. 


tt 

o 


•?\   a 


5^   t 


^..J 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Cogan's  translation  of  Pinto's  Travels^  xxiii  (1653): 
"Three  court  cupboards  placed,  upon  the  which  was  a 
great  deal  of  fine  pourcelain."  Sometimes  these  court 
cupboards  were  ornamented  with  carvings  in  low  relief, 
and  we  find  Corbet  describ- 
ing a  man  "with  a  lean 
visage,  like  a  carved  face 
on  a  court  cupboard." 

The  **  wainscott  settle  " 
and  "cheare"  were  evi- 
dently of  oak,  the  name, 
according  to  Skeat,  being 
derived  from  the  Low 
Danish  wagetisc/iot^  **  the 
best  kind  of  oak-wood, 
well-grained  and  without 
knots."  The  same  au- 
thority tells  us  that 
"wainscot  in  the  building 
trade  is  applied  to  the  best 
kind  of  oak  timber  only, 
used  for  panelling  because 
it    would     not    *cast'    or 


i8th  century  chair 

Armchair  of  walnut  wood. 


warp. 

That  wainscot  was  ap- 
plied to  the  wood  rather  than  to  the  panelling  we  learn 
from  Harrison's  Historicall  Description  of  the  Hand  of 
Britainey  prefixed  to  Holinshed's  Chronicles  (1587),  where 
he  says  that  the  oak  grown  in  Bardfield  Park,  Essex, 
"is  the  finest  for  joiners*  craft,  for  oftimes  have  I 
scene  of  their  works  made  of  that  oke  so  fine  and 
fair    as    most    of    the    wainscot     that    is    brought    hither 


»3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

out  of  Danske,  for  our  wainscot  is  not  made  in  Eng- 
land." 

It  will  be  noticed  in  the  above  inventory  that  several 
carpets  are  mentioned.  The  reader  must  riemember  that 
these  are  not  floor-coverings,  which  were  not  in  general 
use  till  nearly  a  century  later,  but  merely  table-cloths  and 
cupboard-cloths.  Sometimes,  also,  we  find  that  the  cup- 
board was  covered  by  a  cushion.  We  learn  from  an  old 
authority  that  the  carpet,  "a  coarse  hanging  for  a  table, 
made  of  rough  woollen  material  and  of  patches,  of  motley 
colours,"  was  known  as  early  as  1291,  while  Sir  H.  Guild- 
ford's goods  included  "a  carpet  of  green  cloth  for  a  little 
foulding  table "  (1527). 

The  carpets  in  this  country  were  of  leather  in  many 
cases;  we  also  find  them  of  calico,  and  there  is  frequent 
reference  to  striped  and  "streked"  carpets.  Elizabeth 
Butler  bequeathed  to  her  daughter  Elizabeth  (1673)  a 
"Turkey  carpett." 

The  inventory  of  the  possessions  of  Leonard  Calvert, 
Governor  of  Maryland,  who  died  in  1 647,  will  give  a  clear 
idea  of  the  domestic  luxury  of  a  gentleman  of  importance 
in  the  infant  days  of  the  colony.  We  should  conclude 
that  he  belonged  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  even  if 
history  told  us  nothing  about  him.  (The  rug  that  gen- 
erally accompanies  the  bed  and  bolster  was  a  kind  of  heavy 
coloured  blanket.  The  colours  are  frequently  mentioned 
in  the  inventories.  It  will  be  noticed  that  his  lordship  did 
not  sleep  in  sheets.) 

IN  Tob:  &  Cask. 

lb. 
Imp  13  Bookes,  .         .         .         .         .0160 

8  old  napkins,    ......     0024 

6  towells, .     0018 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 


IN   ToB :  6c  Cask. 

2  lbs.  5^"'  Finns,         .... 
It  ^' of  white  thread, 

2  pr  of  new    Holland   socks   &  ^4   ells  of 
Hollan,  ..... 

I  pr  Shoes,         ..... 

A  Table  Booke  &  a  Discipline, 

2*  of  Sweet  head  powder,     . 

A  bone  Crosse,  .... 

3  small  bitts  of  Syluer  plate, 
A  small   payre  of  brasse  Compasses  and  a 

Violl  glass,     ..... 
A  syluer  sack  cup,      .... 
I  old  Bed  &  bolster  &  i  old  greene  Rug, 
I  uery  old  feather- Bed, 
1   old  fflock  Bed  &   Bolster  &   i  old    Red 

Rug, 

I  cloake  bag,      ..... 

An    empty   case    w'^'out    bottles  &    another 

old  Case  w'**  4  bottles, 
A  Blew  Jugge,  .... 

A  white  box  w'^'out  lock  or  key, 
A  red-leather-lFe  case, 
An  old  trunk  w'^  a  lock  &  key, 
An  iron  Pott,     ..... 
5  old  Pewter  dishes  i  bason  5  plates, 
1 2  pewter  spoones,     .... 
A  Joyned  Table,  2  chayres,  &  a  forme, 
An  old  brasse  kettle, 
A  gold  Reliquary  case, 
A  uery  little  Trunck, 
A  great  old  square  chest,     . 
A  kneeling  desk  &  a  picture  of  Paules, 
An  old  frame  of  a  chayre,  2  combs,  &  a  hatt 

brush,    ...... 

one  Rugge,         ..... 

»s 


lb. 

0004 
0008 

0018 
0040 

0030 

0004 
0020 

0030 

0004 
0150 

0350 

0060 

0080 
0010 

0010 
0006 
0030 
0002 
0040 
0050 
0150 
0024 
0200 
0100 
0150 
0020 

0030 

0050 

0022 
0x550 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

IN  ToB :  &  Cask. 

lb. 

Tools,  arms,  nails,  horses,  harness,  sugar  and 
tobacco  in  addition,  and  a  large  howse  w^** 
3  Manno"^  belonging  to  it  att  Pyney  neck,     7000 

A  large  framd  howse,  w'*'  1 00  Acres  of  Town 

Land,     .......     4000 


Amounting  to  25,494  in  all. 

Though  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  most  of  the  gentry 
brought  no  furniture  with  them  originally,  we  have  evi- 
dence that  as  soon  as  they  had  built  a  suitable  house  on 
their  plantation  they  imported  from  England  the  things 
they  were  accustomed  to  have  about  them  at  home.  Pory 
bears  witness  that  it  was  possible  to  get  rich  quickly  in 
Virginia  as  early  as  1617.  "The  Governor  here  [George 
Yeardley]  who  at  his  first  coming,  besides  a  great  deal  of 
worth  in  his  person,  brought  only  his  sword  with  him, 
was  at  his  late  being  in  London  together  with  his  lady, 
out  of  his  mere  gettings  here,  able  to  disburse  very  near 
three  thousand  pounds  to  furnish  him  with  the  voyage." 
He  also  shows  us  that  fashion  was  by  no  means  neglected 
or  despised :  **  We  are  not  the  veriest  beggars  in  the  world. 
One  cow-keeper  here  in  James  City  on  Sunday  goes 
accoutred  in  fresh  flaming  silk,  and  a  wife  of  one  that  in 
England  had  professed  the  black  art,  not  of  a  scholar  but 
of  a  collier  of  Croydon,  wears  her  rough  beaver  hat  with 
a  fair  pearl  hat-band  and  a  silken  suit  thereto  correspon- 
dent." 

Some  of  the  planters  came  here  to  try  the  country,  and 
when  they  liked  it  and  prospered  they  then  brought  over 
their  household  goods  and  settled  permanently.      Some  had 

a6 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  Ol  R   FOREFATHERS 


estates    in    both   countries   and    returned  to  die  at   home, 

while   others   died    here    possessed  of  estates    in    England. 

When   we  read  of  the  length,  dangers  and  miseries  of  the 

Atlantic  passage  at  that  day  we  are  astonished  to  find  that 

it  was  by  no  means  an 

uncommon  thing  for  a 

planter  to  make  several 

visits  to   England.      In 

spite  of  the    wretched 

accommodations         on 

board,  the    passage  was 

often     very    expensive. 

In  1659  we  find:   **To 

Mr.      John     Whirken 

who  went   over  in  the 

Thomas  and  Ann    ship 

£'2.i-\  i-o."       It    must 

also     be     remembered 

that      the      purchasing 

power    of  money    was 

about   five    times  what 

it    is    now.      It    would 

naturally  be  the  better 

class   of  furniture   that 

the  planter  would   bring    with    him    on    his    return.      In 

his  absence  he  left   his   plantation    in  charge  of  an    agent, 

and    sometimes      he     did     not     find     things    as    he    left 

them.       There    were    turbulent    spirits     in     the     colony. 

The  court   records  of  March    22,  1652,  give   an    instance 

of  this: 

"The  humble  complaint  of  Thomas  Cornwallis,  Esq., — 
Showcth 


I7TH  CENTURY  CHAIR 

(Carved  walnut  wood,  a  child's  folding  chair.      Flem'uh. 
About    1660.      Height,  i   ft.  I    in.;  width,  14 ^  in.) 


*7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"  That  whereas  it  is  well  knowne  that  the  Complt  was 
one  of  the  Chiefe  and  first  Adventurers  for  the  planting  of 
this  Province,  and  therein  besides  the  danger  and  hazard  of 
his  life  and  health,  Exhausted  a  Great  part  of  his  Estate  not 
only  in  the  first  Expedition,  but  also  in  yearly  Supplyes  of 
Servants  and  Goods  for  the  Support  of  himself  and  this 
then  Infant  Collony  by  which  and  God's  Blessing  upon 
his  Endeavours,  he  .had  acquired  a  Settled  and  Comfortable 
Subsistence  haveing  a  Competent  Dwelling  house  furnished 
with  plate,  Linnen,  hangings,  beding,  brass,  pewter  and  all 
manner  of  Household  Stuff  worth  at  the  least  a  thousand 
pounds,  about  twenty  Servants,  at  least  a  hundred  Neat 
Cattell,  a  Great  Stock  of  Swine  and  Goats,  some  Sheep  and 
horses,  a  new  pinnace  about  twenty  tunn  well  rigged  and 
fitted,  besides  a  New  Shallop  and  other  Small  boates,  with 
divers  debts  for  Goods  Sold  to  the  quantity  of  neare  A 
Hundred  thousand  weight  of  Tobacco,  all  which  at  his 
going  for  England  in  or  about  April  1644  he  left  and 
deposited  in  the  care  of  his  Attorney  Cuthbert  fFenwick, 
Gent,  who  in  or  about  ffebruary  following  comeing  from 
the  Ship  of  Richard  Ingle  Marriner,  was,  as  Soon  as  he 
Came  ashore.  Treacherously  and  illegally  Surprized  by  the 
said  John  Sturman  and  others,  and  Carryed  aboard  the  said 
Ingles  Ship,  and  there  detained  and  compelled  to  deliver 
the  Complts  house,  and  the  rest  of  the  premisses  into  the 
possession  of  Divers  ill  disposed  persons  whereof  the  Said 
Tho.  and  John  Sturman  and  Wm.  Hardwick  were  three 
of  the  Chiefe,  who  being  Soe  unlawfully  possest  of  the 
Said  house,  and  the  premisses,  plundered  and  Carryed  away 
all  things  in  It,  pulled  down  and  burnt  the  pales  about  it, 
killed  and  destroyed  all  the  Swine  and  Goates,  and  killed 
or  mismarked  almost  all  the  Cattle,  tooke  or  dispersed  all 

z8 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

the  Servants,  Carryed  away  a  great  quantity  of  Sawn  Boards 
from  the  pitts,  and  ript  up  Some  floors  of  the  house.  And 
having  by  the  Violent  and  unlawfull  Courses,  forst  away 
my  said  Attorney,  the  said  Thomas  and  John  Sturman 
possest  themselves  of  the  Complts  house  as  theire  owne. 
dwelt  in  it  soe  long  as  they  please,  and  at  their  departing 
tooke  the  locks  from  the  doors,  and  the  glass  from  the 
windowes,  and  in  fine  ruined  his  whole  Estate  to  the  dam- 
age of  the  Complt  at  least  two  or  three  thousand  pounds 
for  which  he  humbly  craves,"  etc. 

This  gives  us  an  interesting  glimpse  of  a  wealthy  plan- 
ter's house.  The  above  Thomas  Cornwallis  finally  re- 
turned to  England  and  died  there. 

We  have  now  completed  our  rapid  survey  of  the  houses 
and  their  contents  during  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  colony  had  become  prosperous  and  immigra- 
tion was  greatly  stimulated.  As  the  author  of  Leah  and 
Rachel  (1656)  maintains,  Virginia  and  Maryland  were 
pleasant  in  many  ways,  one  of  which  was : 

"  Pleasant  in  their  building,  which  although  for  most 
part  they  are  but  one  story  beside  the  loft  and  built  of  wood, 
yet  contrived  so  delightful  that  your  ordinary  houses  in 
England  are  not  so  handsome,  for  usually  the  rooms  are 
large,  daubed  and  whitelimed,  glazed  and  flowered,  and  if 
not  glazed  windows,  shutters  that  are  made  very  pretty  and 
convenient."  Glass  was  scarce  and  costly.  As  we  have 
just  seen.  Ingle's  piratical  crew  stripped  Mr.  Cornwallis's 
windows  of  their  panes  and  we  have  a  means  of  arriving 
at  the  actual  value  since  in  the  hall  of  Mr.  William 
Hughes,  in  1661,  there  was  "ten  paine  of  glass  abt.  23)/^ 
foot  "  appraised  at  twelve  shillings. 

The   above   quotation    from  Leah  and  Rachel  of  course 

»9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

refers  to  the  humbler  abodes.  The  richer  planters'  houses, 
as  we  have  seen,  were  larger  and  better  furnished.  Every 
plantation  became  a  little  settlement  with  its  wharf,  at 
which  ships  loaded  and  discharged  direct  from  abroad. 
Clothing,  furniture  and  all  kinds  of  merchandise  were  im- 
ported direct  and  paid  for  in  the  tobacco  raised  on  the  spot. 
The  bountiful  rivers  of  Virginia  facilitated  this  system. 

"  No  country  in  the  world  can  be  more  curiously  wa- 
tered. .  .  .  The  great  number  of  rivers  and  the  thinness 
of  inhabitants  distract  and  disperse  a  trade.  So  that  all 
ships  in  general  gather  each  their  loading  up  and  down  an 
hundred  miles  distant ;  and  the  best  of  trade  that  can  be 
driven  is  only  a  sort  of  Scotch  peddling  ;  for  they  must 
carry  all  sorts  of  truck  that  trade  thither  having  one  com- 
modity to  pass  off  another.'*  * 

The  orders  sent  by  the  planters  to  their  agents  in  Eng- 
land were  many  and  various.  The  letters  of  William 
Fitzhugh  and  William  Byrd  afford  many  examples.  We 
find  the  former  writing  for  a  new  feather  bed  with  curtains 
and  valance  and  an  old  one  as  well,  since  he  had  heard 
that  the  new  ones  were  often  full  of  dust.  In  July,  1687, 
he  writes  to  his  brother-in-law  in  London  : 

"  Please  to  mind  the  things  sent  for  by  you,  as  also 
add  a  large  looking-glass  with  an  olive  wood  frame  and  a 
pewter  cistern."  Again,  in  August,  he  writes  to  his 
brother : 

"  I  heartily  thank  your  mindfull  care  and  your  Lady's 
great  kindness  in  those  welcome  glasses  which  came  well 
and  safe  to  hand.'* 

William  Fitzhugh,  under  date  of  April  22,  1686,  de- 
scribes his  estate  in  the  following  letter : 

*  Clayton's  Virgitiia  (1688). 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"  Doctr.  Ralph  Smith  :  In  order  to  the  Exchange  you 
promised  to  make  for  me  and  I  desire  you  to  proceed 
therein  to  say  to  the  Exchange  an  Estate  of  Inheri- 
tance in  land  there  of  two  or  three  hundred  pound  a 
year,  or  in  houses  in  any  town  of  three  or  four  hundred 
pound  a  year,  I  shall  be  something  particular  in  the  relation 
of  my  concerns  here  that  is  to  go  in  return  thereof.  At 
first  the  Plantation  where  I  now  live  contains  a  thousand 
acres,  at  least  700  acres  of  it  being  rich  thicket,  the  re- 
mainder good,  hearty  plantable  land,  without  any  waste 
either  by  marshes  or  great  swamps  the  commodiousness, 
conveniency  and  pleasantness  yourself  well  knows,  upon 
it  there  is  three-quarters  well  furnished  with  all  ne- 
cessary houses;  grounds  and  fencing,  together  with  a 
choice  crew  of  negro's  at  each  plantation,  most  of  them 
this  country  born,  the  remainder  as  likely  as  most  in 
Virginia,  there  being  twenty-nine  in  all,  with  stocks  of 
cattle  and  hogs  at  each  quarter,  upon  the  same  land  is 
my  own  Dwelling  house  furnished*with  all  accommoda- 
tions for  a  comfortable  and  gentile  living,  as  a  very  good 
dwelling  house  with  rooms  in  it,  four  of  the  best  of  them 
hung  and  nine  of  them  plentifully  furnished  with  all  things 
necessary  and  convenient,  and  all  houses  for  use  furnished 
with  brick  chimneys,  four  good  Cellars,  a  Dairy,  Dovecot, 
Stable,  Barn,  Henhouse,  Kitchen,  and  all  other  conveni- 
encys  and  all  in  a  manner  new,  a  large  Orchard  of  about 
2,500  Aple  trees  most  grafted,  well  fenced  with  a  Locust 
fence,  which  is  as  durable  as  most  brick  walls,  a  Garden,  a 
hundred  foot  square,  well  pailed  in,  a  Ycard  wherein  is 
most  of  the  foresaid  necessary  houses,  pallizado'd  in  with 
locust  Puncheons,  which  is  as  good  as  if  it  were  walled  in 
and  more  lasting  than  any  of  our  bricks,  together  with  a 

31 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

good  stock  of  Cattle,  hogs,  horses,  mares,  sheep,  etc.,  and 
necessary  servants  belonging  to  it,  for  the  supply  and  sup- 
port thereof.  About  a  mile  and  half  distance  a  good 
water  Grist  miln,  whose  tole  I  find  sufficient  to  find  my 
own  family  with  wheat  and  Indian  corn,  for  our  necessitys 
and  occasions  up  the  River  in  this  country  three  tracts  of 
land  more,  one  of  them  contains  21,996  acres,  another  500 
acres,  and  one  other  1,000  acres,  all  good,  convenient  and 
commodious  Seats,  and  w*^**  in  a  few  years  will  yield  a  con- 
siderable annual  Income.  A  stock  of  Tob°  with  the  crops 
and  good  debts  lying  out  of  about  250,000  lb.  beside  suffi- 
cient of  almost  all  sorts  of  goods,  to  supply  the  familys  and 
the  Quarter's  occasion  for  two  if  not  three  years." 
On  June  28,  1684,  he  sends  the  following  order: 

"  Mr.  John  Cooper:  I  have  occasion  for  two  pair  of  small  And- 
irons for  Chamber  Chimneys,  one  pair  of  brass  ones  with  fire  shovel 
and  tongs,  and  one  pair  of  iron  ones  well  glazed  ;  with  fire  shovel, 
and  tongs,  also  two  indifferent  large  Iron  backs  for  Chimneys  w'^''  I 
would  have  you  send  me  by  the  first  ships.  Yo'r  Wff." 

In  1698,  he  orders  a  table,  a  case  of  drawers,  a  looking- 
glass  and  two  leather  carpets.      In  1688,  he  writes: 

"  I  have  in  my  two  former  given  you  an  account  of 
money  sent  to  Mr.  Cooper  with  relation  to  laying  out  the 
same  which  now  upon  second  thought  I  wholly  design  for 
an  additional  supply  for  now  my  building  finished,  my 
plantations  well  settled  and  largely  stocked  with  slaves, 
having  added  about  five  more  than  when  I  gave  you  an 
account  thereof  and  purchased  at  least  three  plantations 
more  than  is  there  mentioned  and  being  sufficiently  stored 
with  goods  of  all  sorts  I  esteem  it  as  well  politic  as  reput- 
able to  furnish  myself  with  an  handsome  cupboard  of  plate 
which   gives  myself  the  present  use  and  credit,  is  a  sure 

3a 


CO 


o  '^ 

<  ^ 


t/3     -a 


BEDSTEAD  WITH  TESTER  AND  HANGINGS 

The  ivooJivork  of  about  1620-J0 ;    the  upholstery  probably  fifty  years  later. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

friend  at  a  dead  lift  without  much  loss,  or  is  a  certain  por- 
tion for  a  child  after  my  dicease,  and  therefore  last  year  I 
had  a  small  quantity  from  you  and  about  a  like  quantity 
from  Bristol  and  did  expect  some  from  Plymouth  but  that 
miscarried." 

He  wants  it  strong  and  plain  as  being  less  subject  to 
bruise. 

Colonel  William  Byrd  settled  at  H^estover  on  the 
James  River,  and  while  his  house  was  in  course  of  con- 
struction in  1685  he  wrote  to  England  for  a  bedstead,  bed 
and  hangings,  a  looking-glass,  a  small  and  medium-sized 
oval   table  and   twelve   Russia  leather  chairs. 

Colonel  Fitzhugh  writes  an  interesting  letter  in  January, 
1687,  to  the  Hon.  Nicholas  Spencer.  It  gives  his  views 
on  the  question  of  housebuilding  and  will  bear  quoting. 

**  My  experience  in  concerns  of  this  country,  especially 
in  building  and  settling  plantations,  prompts  me  to  offer 
my  advice,  having  had  sufficient  trial  in  those  affairs  at  the 
expense  of  almost  300,000  pounds  of  Tob**.  I  shall  pro- 
pose no  other  than  what  I  would  follow  myself,  that  is  if 
you  design  this  land  to  settle,  a  child  of  your  own  or  near 
kinsman,  for  whom  it  is  supposed  you  would  build  a  very 
good  house,  not  only  for  their  comfortable  but  their  credit- 
able accommodations;  the  best  methods  to  be  pursued 
therein  is  to  get  a  carpenter  and  Bricklayer  servants,  and  send 
them  in  here  to  serve  4  or  five  years,  in  which  tiirte  of 
their  service  they  might  reasonably  build  a  substantial  good 
house  at  least,  if  not  brick  walls  and  well  plaster 'd,  &  earn 
money  enough  besides,  in  their  said  time,  at  spare  times 
from  your  work,  having  so  long  a  time  to  do  it  in,  as 
would  purchase  plank  nails  and  other  materials,  and  supply 
them  nccessarys  during   their  servitude,  or  if  you  design  to 

33 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

settle  tenants  on  it,  as  your  letter  purports,  in  my  opinion 
its  needless  for  you  to  be  at  the  charge  of  building  for 
their  accommodation,  if  you  intend  any  time,  if  it  is  but 
seven  years,  for  there's  several  that  may  be  found  that  for  a 
seven  years'  Lease,  will  build  themselves  a  convenient  dwell- 
ing, &  other  necessary  houses,  and  be  obliged  at  the  expi- 
ration of  their  time  to  leave  all  in  good  repair,  but  if  you 
at  your  own  charge  should  build  an  ordinary  Virginia  house 
it  will  be  some  charge  and  no  profit.  .  .  But  should  not  ad- 
vise to  build  either  a  great  or  English  framed  house,  for  la- 
bour is  so  intolerably  dear  &  workmen  so  idle,  and  negli- 
gent that  the  building  of  a  good  house  to  you  there  will 
seem  insupportable,  for  this  1  can  assure  you  when  I  built 
my  own  house  and  agreed  as  cheap  as  I  could  with  work- 
men &  as  carefully  and  as  diligently  took  care  that  they 
followed  their  work,  notwithstanding  we  have  timber  for 
nothing,  but  felling  and  getting  in  place,  the  frame  of  my 
house  stood  me  in  more  money  in  Tob°  @'  8  sh.p.Cwt. 
than  a  frame  of  the  same  dimensions  would  cost  in  London 
by  a  third  at  least." 

A  good  example  of  the  household  furniture  in  York 
County  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  that  of 
Captain  Stephen  Gill,  August  2,  1653,  whose  estate  was 
appraised  by  Mr.  F.  Hy.  Lee  et  al  at  33,559  pounds  to- 
bacco, including;  seven  servants  valued  at  3,760  pounds. 

In  the  Hall  there  was  a  feather  bed  and  bolster, 
dock  do,  blanket,  bedstead,  pair  of  striped  curtains 
and  valance  ;  two  couches  with  flock  beds,  four  fea- 
ther pillows  and  two  coverlets  ;  a  hammock  ;  a 
table  and  "carpet,"  two  "chaises,"  two  stools  covered 
with  striped  stuff,  and  five  cushions ;  a  small  side 
table  and  striped  carpet,  a  small  pewter  cistern  and 
bason,  and  a  bason  stoole;  a  "  livery  cubbard  "  with 

34 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

glasses  and  earthenware  upon  it,  a  close  stool  and 
pan,  an  ebony  looking-glass ;  bellows,  snuffers, 
dogs,  table,  fire  shovel,  tongs,  small  dark  lantern  and 
chafing-dish,  a  drum  and  sticks,  a  parcell  of  old  pic- 
tures, an  old  target ;  firearms;  steelyards  and  a  "par- 
cell  of  old  books";  two  small  chests,  a  trunk  and  a 
little  box  ;  an  old  "  Phisick  chest  with  druggs  in,"  etc. 
and  a  "  small  box  with  Phisick  ";  two  old  plaister 
boxes, one  old  "salvatorie,"  some  instruments,  a  razor, 
six  lancets,  two  pairs  of  scissors  and  three  tobacco 
tongs ;  two  swords  and  a  leather  belt ;  a  sack,  a 
drum  and  some  silver;  14  doz.  gold  and  silver 
breast  buttons,  3  doz.  silk  points,  a  parcel  of  silk 
breast  buttons,  a  parcel  of  colored  silk,  a  parcel  of 
ribbon,  a  pair  of  gloves  and  three  brushes. 

In  the  Chamber  we  find  an  old  bedstead  with 
"  vallance "  curtains,  feather  bed,  blanket,  rug  and 
pillows;  a  bedstead  with  fringed  "vallance,"  flock  bed, 
bolster  and  rug  ;  one  "  old  hamock  "  and  one  "ham- 
acka";  two  chests,  a  trunk,  box  and  desk,  all  old; 
one  old  melted  still,  fire-irons  and  dogs;  and  a  great 
deal  of  linen  consisting  of  bed  linen,  table  cloths, 
and  napkins,  as  well  as  underclothing.  In  the 
"  Inner  Chamber"  there  were  two  bedsteads,  feather 
beds,  curtains  and  "  vallence,"  an  old  table,  an  old 
chest,  a  new  trunk,  a  joint  stool,  a  table  basket  and 
clothing.  I  n  the  "  Shedd  "  there  was  a  small  "  runlett 
honey,"  a  small  "  runlett  treele,  three  bushell  wheat, 
4'"  hops,  16"*  soap,  100"'  Butter,  6  old  Cases,  i  old 
low  stoole,  1  old  dripping  pan,  1  old  Tinn  Cove' 
Dish,  24  Trenche",  and  3  old  Calk. 

In  the  "  Loaft,"  we  find  Wheat,  salt,  meal,  can- 
vas, nails,  scythes,  axes,  hoes,  reaping  hoops,  pot- 
hooks, hinges  &  Casks  amtgto  0120  tob. 

In  the  "  Kitching,"  i  Copper  Kettle,  i  old  brass 
Kettle,  I   brass  pott,  3  brass  Candlesticks^  i   brass 

3S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Skillitt,  I  small  brass  Morter  &  Pestle,  i  brass 
Skime',  i  brass  Spoone,  3  ^Id  Iron  Potts,  i  small 
Iron  Pott,  3  Pestles,  1  ffrying  Pann,  2  Spitts,  2  pre 
of  Potthangers,  3  pre  pothookes,  and  i  Iron  Ladle, 
fflesh  hooke,  3  Tinn  Cullende",  46"'  Pewter  att  3** 
per  I  lb.  (0700  tob.),  4  Old  Porringers,  19  Pewter 
Spoons,  3  old  I  new  Chambe'  Potts,  Pewte',  4  old 
Pewte'  Tankards,  i  fflaggon,  2  Salt  selle",  6  Tinn 
Candlesticks,  2  doz.  old  Trenchers,  and  2  Sifte". 

In  the  "  Milk  House"  there  are  24  Trayes  and 
one  Cheesepress,  300  stores,  boat,  sail,  live  stock,  pil- 
lion harness,  and  i  old  rugg,  30  lb.  The  seven  serv- 
ants are  valued  at  3760  lbs.,  and  his  personalty 
amounts  to  33,559  lbs. 

The  varied  contents  of  the  three  rooms  are  typical  of 
all  the  houses  of  the  period,  though  it  seems  strange  to  find 
accommodations  to  sleep  three  people  in  the  hall.  The 
general  hospitality  of  the  community  accounts  for  this  and 
it  is  usual  to  find  beds  in  every  room  until  the  end  of  the 
century. 

The  livery  cupboard  that  stood  in  this  hall  was  some- 
what similar  to  the  court  cupboard  already  described  on 
page  22.  It  consisted  of  three  shelves,  or  stages,  standing 
on  four  turned  legs.  The  livery  cupboard  seems  to  have 
had  a  drawer  for  the  table  linen  but  no  doors,  as  we  learn 
from  a  MS.  in  the  British  Museum  giving  the  charges 
for  the  work  of  a  joiner  in  the  early  days  of  Henry  VIII's 
reign : 

"Ye  cobards  they  be  made  ye  facyon  of  livery  y  is 
w^out  doors." 

The  mugs  and  cups  were  hung  on  hooks  and  a  ewer 
and  basin  stood  below  the  shelves. 

The  livery  cupboard  was  for  service  or  delivery,  if  we 

36 


W  iill  bj  »<  U  W  W    Mil 


OAKEN  CUPBOARD 

Carved  oak  ;    the  loiver  part  contains  tivo  Jratcerj  and  is  surmounted  by  a  cupboard  luitk 
receding  sides,  ivhich  supports  the  flat  top,  also  partly  resting  on  tivo  spiral  columns.      On 
the  cupboard  door  is  carved  the  portrait  of  a  lady  ivearing  a  ruff  and  lace  collar, 
the  cabinet  is  further  decorated  ivith  narroiv  bands  inlaid  ivitb  small  si/uaret 
of  ivood,  alternately  light  and  dark.      Between  the  draivers  is  an  inlaid 
tulip.      'The  ivhole  is  supported  on  four  short  baluster  tegs  nvith  cross- 
bars of  the  same  design.     English,  dated  **/1.  D.  /6oj."    HeigAt, 
4fi.  ayi  in.  J  lengthy  jft.  Jo%  in.  j  depth,  /J),  gy^  in. 


t 


ARMCHAIR 

Of  about  j6jo.      H'ith  upholstery  either  of  the  same  date  or  renenued  in  the  original  style. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

may  believe  the  etymologists,  and  Comenius  in  Janua 
(1659):  "Various  drinking-vessels  are  brought  forth  out 
of  the  cupboards  and  glass  case  and  being  rubbed  with  a 
pot  brush,  are  set  on  the  livery  cupboard." 

The  "  livery-cupboard,"  **  court-cupboard,"  "  standing- 
cupboard"  and  "press"  were  all  very  similar  in  character. 
We  will  take  a  few  examples  from  the  inventories 
with  their  prices :  **  one  old  half-headed  cupboard 
(Edward  Keene,  1646);  one  old  court-cupboard,  100  lbs. 
(Captain  E.  Roe,  1676);  one  cubboard  and  a  cort,  150 
lbs.  (G.  A.  Marshall,  1675);  a  great  cupboard,  iioo  lbs. 
(Captain  J.  Carr,  1676);  an  old  cupboard,  200  lbs.  (Cap- 
tain T.  Howell,  1 676) ;  a  cupboard  with  cloth  and  cushion, 
500  lbs.,  a  side  cupboard  cloth  and  cushion,  250  lbs. 
(Nicholas  Wyatt,  1676);  a  court  cupboard,  290  lbs.  (G. 
F.  Beckwith,  1676);  a  standing-cupboard  (Colonel  William 
Farrer,  1678);  an  old  cupboard,  15  lbs.  (Captain  James 
Crews,  1681);  one  side  cupboard  (Will  Sargent,  1683); 
an  old  press,  80  lbs.  (Richard  Worneck,  1684);  a  *pinc 
press,'  150  lbs.  (John  Milner,  1684)  ;  a  *cubbert,'  10  shil- 
lings (M.  Bacon,  1694);  a  cubbert,  10  shillings  (N.  Bacon, 
1694);  a  cubbert,  6  shillings  (H.  Watkins,  1700)." 

It  is  very  evident  on  looking  at  the  prices  that  these 
articles  of  furniture  varied  greatly  in  size  and  ornamenta- 
tion. Some  of  them  were  undoubtedly  richly  carved  as 
in  the  specimens  existing  in  the  museums  abroad,  although 
the  inventories  are  the  only  evidence  we  have  been  able  to 
find  of  their  existence  in  the  South.  Captain  Carr's  cup- 
board, being  valued  at  nearly  $250  in  present  money,  must 
have  been  very  ornate.  In  estimating  the  value  of  tobacco 
we  are  in  difficulties,  because  it  varied  greatly  from 
year  to  year.    In   1638  tobacco  is  declared    to   be    worth 

37 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

three  pence  per  pound;  in  1639,  as  we  have  seen 
(see  page  9),  it  is  valued  at  ^^3— 19— 12  per  hundred 
pounds,  or  three  and  one-half  times  as  much.  In 
1640,  when  an  inventory  was  taken  of  the  estate  of 
Henry  Crav/lie  (Isle  of  Kent),  "the  praysers  in  their 
consciences  think  tobacco  is  worth  per  pound"  two 
pence.  The  average  price  of  tobacco  during  the  second 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  taken  at  about  two  pence 
per  pound,  and  the  value  of  money  was  about  five  times 
what  it  is  now.  It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  give  some 
idea  of  the  wealth  of  the  individual  planters,  which  in 
many  cases  certainly  justified  sumptuous  household  goods. 
It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  various  rooms  had 
not  acquired  the  special  character  that  they  now  possess. 
It  was  a  long  time  even  in  England  before  parlour  and 
dining-room  were  distinct  apartments.  In  early  days  it 
was  customary  for  the  lords  and  ladies  to  eat  in  the  large 
hall  before  the  household,  but  gradually  it  became  a  habit 
to  screen  off  a  portion  of  the  hall  for  privacy.  Thence  it 
was  but  a  step  to  the  private  dining-room.  This  was  re- 
ceived at  first  with  disfavour ;  we  read  in  Piers  Plowman 
(fourteenth  century) : 

'  In  the  Halle 
the  lord  ne  the  Ladye  lyketh  not  to  sytte ; 
rtow  hath  eche  syche  a  rule  to  eaten  by  himself e 
in  a  privee  parlour.** 

In  1526  the  ordinances  of  Eltham  remark  with  some 
asperity  that  "  sundrie  noblemen  and  gentlemen  and  others 
doe  much  delighte  to  dyne  in  corners  and  secrete  places." 

The  dining-room  was  not  the  one  familiar  to  us.  It 
opened  from  the  hall  and  contained  not  only  tables  and 
cupboards  but  a  bed,  chairs  and  carpets.   One  of  these  new 

38 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


"parlours"  in  the  reign  of  Mary 
and  Philip  contained  "a  jointed 
bedstead  "  covered  with  a  counter- 
point of  **  emegrie  work  with  iij 
cortayns  of  greene  and  red  serge, 
one  counter  and  ij  olde  coverings 
for  the  same,  ij  long  damask  sylke 
chussings,  v  sylke  chussengs,  one 
dozen  old  chusshings,  one  table, 
one  joned  forme  with  a  counter- 
point to  the  table  and  ij  trussels, 
iiij  thrown  chayres  and  vij  joned 
stools,  one  great  payre  of  andyrons, 
one  payre  of  tongs,  one  fyre  shovel 
and  a  pare  of  bellows,  and  one 
Flanders'  chest." 

The  "thrown"  chairs  are  said 
to  be  chairs  "  with  frames  of  turn- 
ery work";  the  "joint  stool"  was  usually  three-legged. 
The  chair  shown  here  is  one  of  the  earliest  forms  immedi- 
ately succeeding  the  carved  oak  period. 

A  "dining-parlour"  is  mentioned  in  1579  as  a  separate 
room,  but  even  this  contained  a  bed;  and  a  "dining  cham- 
ber" occurs  in  1639.  Parlour  is  defined  in  Minshew's 
Guide  Unto  Tongues  (1617)  as  "an  inner  room  to  dine  or 
suppe  in,"  and  the  first  mention  of  dining-room  is  found 
in   The  Knight  of  the  Burning  Pestle^  Merrythought  saying : 

"  I  never  come  into  my  dining-room  but  at  eleven  and  six 
o'clock — I  found  excellent  meat  and  drink  i*  th*  table." 

It  will,  therefore,  be  appreciated  that  the  dining-room 
had  not  separated  itself  from  the  bed-chamber  and  parlour 
at  this  period  in  England,  and,  consequently,  we  shall  find 

39 


WALNUT    CHAIR 

Brlongrd  to  Sir  Wiltum  Guoch,  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia  I  727-1747.  From  the 
original  in  the  possession  of  the  Virginia 
Historical  Society,  Richmond. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

all   these   rooms  uncertain  as  to   character  in  Virginia  for 
many   years.      The  parlour  bed-chamber  still   survives  in 
many  old  Southern  homes,  i.  e.,  the  chamber  situated  near 
the  parlour. 

The  "parlour,"  literally  the  place  where  people  could 
parley  in  privacy,  became  the  **  withdrawing-room,"  used 
for  conversation,  as  the  dining-room  was  used  for  feasting. 
Among  the  free  artisan  and  labouring  classes  and  poorer 
planters,  the  furniture  is  still  excessively  meagre.   Some  in- 
ventories show  none  at  all,  the  utmost  being  an  old  couch, 
a  bed,  two  or  three  old  chairs  and  a  chest  or  trunk. 

The   inventory  of  Mr.  Gyles  Mode,  of  York  County, 
Va.,  is  worth  reproducing  because  the  articles  are  valued  in 
pounds,   shillings  and   pence,  instead  of  tobacco  as  is  cus- 
tomary, and  this  is  more  satisfactory,  as  the  latter  commo- 
dity was  not  constant  in  value. 

£.  s.  d. 
I  Father  bed  &  feather  bolster,  very  old  bed- 
tick,  I  old  green  rug  &  blanket,  i   bedstead, 
a  piece  of  serge,  green  curtains  &  vallance,  .       8-5-0 
6  Leathern  chairs,  old,  4  high,  2  low,  .     i-io-o 

I  Court  Cupboard  with  drawers,      .         .         .       5-0-0 
I  Table,  abt  7  ft,  a  form  &  green  cotton  carpet,        1-5-0 
I  Small  square  table  &  a  wicker  graining  chair 
&  carpet,   .......     0-15-0 

I  Warming  pan  &  tin  scolloped  candlestick,     .       0-6—0 
I  Pair  of  low  dogs  with  brass  tops,  one  broken 
I  Old  couch  with  old  flock  bolster  &  green 
rug,  ........     o-io-o 

I  Chest  with  lock  &  key,  .         .         .     0—12-0 

I  Looking-glass  with  black  frame,  .         .     0-12-0 

With  the  exception  of  the  bedstead,  bedding  and  hang- 
ings, the  court  cupboard  with  drawers  is  Mr.  Mode's  most 
valuable  possession ;  in  fact,  it  is  worth  all  his  other  wooden 


ARMCHAIR 

Oak,  with  high  back  carved  with  floral  ornament  and  "/.  P.  1670,**  jcroU  arms,  and 

turned  legs  and  crossbars.     English.     Height,  4  ft.  5  in.;  widtk^  2  ft.  3  in. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

furniture  put  together,  representing  at  least  ^125  in  pres- 
ent money.  It  was  undoubtedly  a  decorative  as  well  as 
useful  feature  of  his  home;  and  we  must  credit  him  with 
distinct  aesthetic  preferences,  since  his  rugs  and  table  **  car- 
pets" were  all  green  in  hue.  This  taste  was  also  shared 
by  Colonel  Thomas  Ludlow,  showing  that  green  was  fash- 
ionable in  upholstery  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

The  estate  of  Francis  Wheeler  is  also  given  in  money 
(January  30,  1659).  Among  other  things  "in  the  cham- 
ber" we  find  **a  Virginia-made  bedstead  and  an  old-fash- 
ioned guilt  Canne,"  the  latter  valued  at  j^j-io-o  Thomas 
Bucke,  January,  1659,  in  addition  to  beds  and  other  house- 
hold stuff,  left  behind  him  "a  striped  tablecloth  2sh,  6d,  a 
hide  couch  8sh,  a  wainscot  couch  1 5sh,  three  wainscot 
chairs  ^^i-o-o,  four  lined-back  chairs  ^2-0-0,  one  frame 
table  and  form  and  two  joint  stools  and  a  little  one  ;f  1-5-0." 

At  an  auction  of  the  estate  of  John  Marsh,  September 
16,  1659,  Jeremiah  Rawlins  bought  **a  powdering  tubb"; 
and  another  lot  consisted  of  **  one  small  hanging  table  and 
a  form  to  hang,  one  couch,  two  pails  and  trays."  The  in- 
ventory of  Stephen  Page's  goods,  December,  1659,  in- 
cludes "one  chafing-dish  and  one  skynn  couch,"  besides 
the  usual  bed. 

According  to  the  inventory  of  the  estate  of  Colonel 
Thomas  Ludlow,  January  i ,  1 660,  his  house  contained  "  the 
Inner  Rooms,"  "  Lt.  Coll.  Ludlowes  chamber,"  "  the  Hall," 
"the  Buttery,"  "the  loft,"  "the  Kitchen,"  "the  Stoare" 
and  the  "  Milke  House."  The  hall  seems  to  have  been 
furnished  best,  and,  unlike  so  many  houses  of  the  day,  con- 
tained no  bed.  In  it  was  one  long  table  and  green  cloth 
carpet,  a  chest,  one  green  couch,  two  leather  chairs,  three 

4» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


I7TH    CENTURY    CROMWELL    CHAIR 

Sec  page  45. 


low  chairs,  one  low  stool 
and  four  high  chairs 
with  green  cloth,  a  joint 
stool  and  short  table,  ten 
cushions,  one  pair  and- 
irons, fire  shovel  and 
tongs,  a  tin  candlestick, 
snuffers  and  a  brush. 

The  bed  during  the 
second  half  of  this  cen- 
tury still  maintained  its 
importance.  We  have 
many  records  of  the 
varied  material  with 
which  it  was  decorated. 
The  curtains  hung  from 
rods  by  hooks,  as  is  expressly  mentioned  in  the  inventory 
of  Colonel  Epes,  1678  (see  page  52).  They  seem 
always  to  have  been  accompanied  by  a  valance.  To  take 
a  few  examples  from  the  inventories,  the  curtains  are 
"striped"  (S.  Gill,  1653),  "red  perpetuana"  (E.  Keene, 
1646),  "green"  (F.  Mathews,  1676),  "serge  with  silk 
fringe"  (R.  Macklin,  1676),  " camlet  curtains  and  double 
valance  lined  with  yellow  silk"  and  fringed  curtain  (Colonel 
Epes,  1678);  and  "  Kitterminster"  (W.  Sargent,  1683). 
Printed  calico  was  also  common.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  wooden  walls  were  rarely  air-tight,  and,  in  winter, 
bed-curtains  were  a  necessary  protection  against  the  strong 
draughts. 

The  will  of  Richard  Lee,  dated  1663,  shows  the  value 
that  was  still  attached  to  beds. 

"  Item.      My  will  and  earnest  desire  is  that  my  house- 

4» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


hold  stuff  at  Stratford  be  di- 
vided into  three  parts,  two  of 
which  I  give  to  my  son  John 
and  bind  him  to  give  to  every 
one  of  his  brothers  a  bed,  and 
the  other  part  I  give  to  my 
wife,  Anna  Lee. 

**  Item.  I  give 
and  bequeath  unto 
my  eldest  son  John 
three  islands  lying 
in  the  Bay  of  Ches- 
apeake, the  great 
new  bed  that  I 
brought  over  in  the 
Duke  of  York,  and 
the  furniture  there- 
to belonging." 

This  Colonel 
Lee,  who  dwelt  at 
Mt.  P  leasanty 
West  moreland 
County,  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  early  planters 
of  Virginia.  His  tobacco  crop  was  worth  ^10,000 
a  year  present  value  and  his  estate  at  Stratford-Langton,  in 
England,  $4,000  a  year  more.      He  died  in  1714. 

That  he  was  choice  in  his  household  goods  is  evident 
from  the  Saintsbury  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  1660  :  "The 
petition  in  behalf  of  Colonel  Richard  Lee,  of  Virginia,  to 
the  Lord  Protector  and  Council.  Certain  plate  brought 
from  Virginia  to  London  by  Colonel  Lee,  about  a  year  and 
a   half  ago,  to  change  the  fashion,  has  been  seized  on   his 

43 


AN    OAK    CHAIR    OF     1 649 

The  stutTed  scat  is  covered  with  maroon  leather  over  which  is  a 
piece  of  canvas  worked  with  colored  wools  in  the  manner  of  a 
carpet. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

return  to  Virginia,  by  the  searchers  at  Gravesend  ;  every 
piece  having  the  Colonel's  coat  of  arms,  and  being  for  his 
own  private  use,  who  did  not  know  but  that  plate  manu- 
factured might  be  transported  to  English  plantations." 

The  Colonel's  affidavit  stated  that  his  trunk  had  con- 
tained 200  ounces  of  silver  plate,  all  marked  with  his  coat 
of  arms  and  intended  for  his  own  use,  and  that  it  had  been 
seized  at  Gravesend  aboard  the  ship  Anthony  of  London, 
and  that  most  of  it  had  been  in  his  possession  for  many 
years  in  Virginia. 

After  the  execution  of  Charles  I,  Colonel  Norwood, 
with  other  Royalists,  took  ship  for  the  colony ;  and  he  has 
left  a  vivid  description  of  his  terrible  voyage.  He  and 
others  were  deserted  on  an  island  and  finally  reached 
Jamestown  by  the  aid  of  friendly  Indians.  In  the  first 
frontier  house  he  came  to,  **  a  large  bed  of  sweet  straw  was 
spread  ready  for  our  reception."  This  was  in  Northamp- 
ton County,  and  the  furniture  must  have  been  almost  nil. 
The  proverbial  lavish  hospitality  of  the  Virginians  was  al- 
ready noticeable,  for  we  read :  "As  we  advanced  into  the 
plantations  that  lay  thicker  together  we  had  our  choice  of 
hosts  for  our  entertainment,  without  money  or  its  value; 
in  which  we  did  not  begin  any  novelty,  for  there  are  no 
inns  in  the  colony,  nor  do  they  take  other  payment  for 
what  they  furnish  to  coasters,  but  by  requital  of  such  cour- 
tesies the  same  way  as  occasions  offer." 

We  have  now  reached  a  date,  therefore,  when  the  bet- 
ter houses  were  furnished  with  considerable  comfort  and 
variety.  Luxury  was  advancing.  The  tables  no  longer 
consisted  merely  of  boards  and  trestles ;  and  the  forms  and 
benches  were  fast  disappearing  in  favour  of  quite  a  variety 
of  chairs.      The  seats  and  sometimes  the  backs  of  the  latter 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


were  comfortably  stuffed,  and  they  were  heavy  and  substan- 
tial rather  than  elegant  in  design.  The  woods  of  which 
they  were  made  are  seldom  mentioned  in  the  inventories. 
We  shall  have  to  wait  some  years  yet,  till  the  influence  of 
the  French  Renaissance,  now  beginning,  is  felt,  before  Eng- 
land and  her  colonies 
care  for  art  in  furni- 
ture. First,  in  order 
of  time,  came  the 
leather  chair,  high 
and  low,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  and  we 
may  mention  here  that 
the  brown  leather- 
covered  and  brass- 
nailed  chairs,  still 
known  as  the  "Crom- 
well chairs,"  were  im- 
ported   into    England    ,  .^  t>p«  p«>^""«  'o  oerby- 

r                 _         ,,          ,               ,               *'"'•■'     k"gl->nd,  — sec    the    ac-  This  type  of  chair  i*   pecu- 

from    Holland.      Then     companymg  illustration,  seven-  liar  to  Yorkshire  and  Derby- 

teenth  century.      From  the  on-  ghirc.     England.       From    the 

came     the     Turkey-     gmal  •"  the  Victona  and  Albert  original   in    the  Victoria  and 

^          Museum.  Albert  Museum. 

work  chair  which  was 

much  in  vogue  till  the  end  of  the  century.  It  probably 
got  its  name  from  the  rugs  imported  from  the  Levant,  for 
its  cover  was  embroidered  with  designs  in  bright  colours. 
The  "rush"  and  wood-bottomed  chairs  were  the  common- 
est kinds;  in  1684  two  of  the  former  were  valued  at  two 
pounds  of  tobacco.  In  1676  "ten  wood-bottom  chairs" 
were  appraised  at  fifteen  pence  each.  There  were  not  so 
many  kinds  of  single  chairs  in  the  seventeenth  century  as 
there  were  of  armchairs.  There  were  two  very  favourite 
oak    patterns,   the    Derbyshire    and    the    Yorkshire.      The 

4S 


OAKEN  CHAIR 


I 7TH  CENTURY  CHAIR 
OF  OAK. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

former  belongs  to  the  time  of  James  I.  Its  hori- 
zontal pieces  are  tenoned  into  the  uprights  and  fastened 
with  oak  pegs.  Between  the  rails  three  arches  with 
neatly  turned  spindles  are  introduced.  The  chair  is 
exceedingly  firm  and  solid.  The  Yorkshire  model,  of 
which  great  numbers  were  produced,  is  rather  more  or- 
namental. Besides,  the  usual  uprights,  the  back  has  two 
rails,  an  arch  with  ornamental  scroll-work,  and  small 
turned  "droppers."  Here  we  also  find  the  bell-shaped 
flower,  or  columbine,  destined  to  appear  in  future  years, 
both  in  carving  and  inlay. 

Some  attention  was  given  to  ornamenting  the  chimney 
piece.      W.  Sargent  in  1683  had  a  "chimney-cloth." 

The  inventories  give  evidence  of  barter  with  the  Indians. 
Indian  baskets,  matting,  etc.,  are  not  uncommon. 

Theinventory  of  the  estate  of  Colonel  John  Carter,  1670, 
included  table  and  bed  linen,  curtains,  a  number  of  beds  and 
bedstead,  kitchen  utensils,  fifteen  "  turkie  work  chairs," 
twenty-one  old  leather-chairs,  eight  Turkey-work  cushions 
and  two  old  cushions,  six  Spanish  tables,  two  looking- 
glasses,  two  chests  of  drawers  and  some  silver  plate,  besides 
live  stock,  amounting  in  all  to  ^2250-10-6. 

Thirty-six  chairs  would  be  enough  for  a  moderate  house 
at  the  present  day,  so  Colonel  Carter  was  respectably  supplied. 
The  three-legged  joint-stool  was  also  universally  used  side 
by  side  with  the  chairs.  Captain  Thomas  Howell  of  Mary- 
land, March  14,  1676,  owned  ten  joint-stools,  two  wooden 
chairs,  six  small  chairs,  eighteen  leather  chairs,  six  Turkey- 
work  chairs  and  one  wicker  chair. 

The  prices  in  tobacco  were  as  follows:  six  leather 
chairs,  120  lbs.  (R.  Macklin,  1676);  2  joint  stools,  80  lbs., 
3  leather  chairs,  i  wooden  chair  and  2  cushions,  1 20  lbs., 

46 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

(G.  A.  Marshall,  1675);  one  great  wicker  chair,  40  lbs., 
(Edw.  Keene,  1646);  12  leather  chairs,  480  lbs.,  12 
Turkey-work  do,  960  lbs.,  2  old  wooden  do,  30  lbs.,  7 
small  wooden  do,  84  lbs.  (Captain  Edw.  Roe,  1676).  Thus 
we  see  that  the  prices  varied  greatly.  The  wicker  chair 
was  generally  accompanied  by  a  cushion,  though  the  latter 
is  not  always  mentioned  in  the  inventories.  In  addition  to 
the  above  kinds,  there  was  the  "straw  "  chair,  and  the  chair 
with  a  seat  of  woven  "flag,"  In  1694,  we  hnd  two  straw- 
bottomed  chairs  valued  at  one  shilling  and  sixpence;  and, 
in  the  same  year,  Michael  Swift's  **  nine  old  flag  and 
wooden  chairs"  were  appraised  at  eighteen  shillings.  The 
most  fashionable  chair,  however,  was  the  Russia  leather 
chair,  it  occurs  in  all  the  best  houses  towards  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  Colonel  Francis  Epes,  of  Henrico 
County,  October  i,  1678,  had  24  Russia  leather  high  chairs, 
j^8-2-o.  He  also  possessed  "  i  2  Turkey  work  chairs,  ten 
pf  which  are  new  at  jf  4-5-0,  two  broken,  i  sh.,  9  Camlett 
[camel's-hairj  chairs,  7  of  them  new  at  7  shillings  per 
chair  and  2  broken  i  shilling,  ^'2-10-0;  and  one  Ellboe 
chair  damnifyed  though  new,  7  shillings."  Besides  the 
above,  there  were  the  "calfskin,"  the  "rush,"  the  "cane," 
the  "bass,"  the  "black",  and  the  matted  chair.  Thus 
Thomas  Shippery  of  Henrico  County  (1684)  owned  "  one 
joyner's  (arm'd)  chair  "  valued  at  thirty  pounds  tobacco  and 
"two  rush  (green)  chairs,  20  lbs."  Henry  Watkins  (1700) 
had  six  bass  chairs,  value  twelve  shillings.  Col.  Jno.  Carr  of 
Maryland  in  1676  had  six  turned  Dutch  chairs,  360  lbs. 
Thomas  Bucke  (1659)  owned  four  lined  back  chairs,  £^i, 
and  three  wainscot  chairs,  ^^i.  Chairs  were  very  numerous 
in  the  well-to-do  houses.  In  1694  N.  Bacon  was  not 
unusually  well  supplied  with  his  thirty-six.     The  accom- 

47 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

panying  illustration  affords  a  clear  view  of  the  cane  chairs 
of  the  period. 

The  chair  on  page  49  is  of  walnut.  It  has  a  high  hack 
with  a  long  panel  rounded  at  each  end  and  filled  in  with 
cane  wehhing  with  a  carved  and  pierced  pedimental  top. 
The  two  turned  pillars  on  either  side  of  the  panel  are  con- 
tinuations of  the  hack  legs.  The  front  legs  terminate  in 
moulded  feet  turned  outwards.  They,  as  well  as  the  strain- 
ing rails,  are  turned.  The  date  of  the  chair  is  about  1 690. 
The  seat  is  plain  and  filled  in  with  cane  webbing.  On 
page  6  another  example  of  the  high-backed  cane  chair  is 
found.  The  wood  is  painted.  The  top  rail  of  the  back 
is  carved  and  pierced  and  below  it  is  a  panel  similar  to  that 
last  described  also  filled  in  with  cane  webbing.  The 
side  supports  are  also  continuations  of  the  back  legs.  The 
square  frame  of  the  seat  is  filled  in  with  cane;  the  front 
legs  are  carved  with  projecting  knees  and  feet  turned  out- 
wards. They  are  joined  by  a  carved  and  pierced  rail  with 
a  design  similar  to  that  in  the  top  of  the  back,  which  is  of 
scrolls  and  foliage.  The  second  chair  on  page  49  is  also 
painted,  with  a  high  back  and  top  rail  pierced  and  carved. 
The  central  panel  of  the  back  is  filled  in  with  cane  web- 
bing and  its  frame  is  carved  and  incised,  as  is  the  broad 
rail  joining  the  two  front  legs.  The  decoration  is  of  floral 
scrolls  and  the  legs  and  straining  rails  and  side  supports  of 
the  back  are  spirally  turned.  The  pine  cone  surmounts 
these  side  pillars  and  a  large  shell  holds  the  central  posi- 
tion in  the  top  rail.  The  date  of  this  chair  is  about  1660. 
It  is  a  good  example  of  the  general  carving  of  the  day. 
The  shell  is  of  great  antiquity  in  ornamentation. 

We  also  give  examples  of  two  other  chairs  of  the  same 
period.      The  armchair  is  exactly  similar  in  form  to  those 

4S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


I7TH    CENTURY    CHAIR 

Walnut ;  high  back,  with  a 
long  panel  rounded  at  each  end  and 
filled  in  with  cane  webbing,  sur- 
mounted by  a  pedimental  piece 
carved  and  pierced,  supported  by 
two  turned  pillars  continuous  with 
the  cane  webbing.  The  seat  is  a 
plain  frame  AUed  in  with  cane  web- 
bing. The  front  legs  and  straining 
rails  arc  turned.  Lent  by  C.  H. 
Talbot,  £«).,  Lacock  Abbey. 


I7TH    CENTURY    CHAIR 

Painted ;  high  back  with 
carved  and  pierced  top  rail. 
Back  framing  and  lower  rail 
carved  and  incised,  the  central 
panel  of  the  back  and  seat  tilled 
in  with  cane  webbing.  The  legs 
and  two  straining  rails  are  spirally 
turned.  Carved  and  incised  fnint 
rail.  About  1660.  Lent  by  W. 
H.  Evans,  £«].,  Fordc  Abbey. 


already  described.  The  legs  are  simply  turned,  the  seat  is 
of  woven  cane  and  the  only  difference  is  in  the  carving  of 
the  back  and  of  the  front  rail,  which  is  very  ornate.  It  is 
of  a  beautiful  black  walnut.  The  other  high-backed  chair, 
said  to  be  Spanish,  precisely  follows  the  form  altogether  of 
the  other  examples  given.  The  back  and  seat  are  covered 
with  stamped  Spanish  leather  of  a  tawny  colour,  fastened 
with  big  brass  studs.  The  ornamentation  of  the  front  rail 
consists  simply    of   two   carved    interlacing   scrolls.     The 

49 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


HIGH-BACKED    CHAIR 

Covered  with  stamped  Spanish  leather 
of  a  tawny  colour  fastened  with  brass  studs. 
The  front  rail  consists  of  two  interlacing 
scrolls.  From  original  in  the  Memorial 
Hall,  Philadelphia.      See  page  49. 


I7TH    CENTURY    ARMCHAIR   OF   CARVEI 
BLACK    WALNUT 

The  legs  are  turned,  the  scat  is  of  woven  cane.  Th( 
back  and  the  front  rail  are  highly  carved.  Set 
page  49. 


high-backed  Russia  leather  chairs  so  numerous  in  the  in- 
ventories, are  clearly  represented  in  this  specimen.  The 
low-backed  leather  chair,  which  also  had  a  leather  seat, 
was  square  and  squat  in  shape  and  is  also  shown  in  an  ac- 
companying illustration  in  a  specirnen  belonging  to  Dr. 
Christopher  Witt,  a  German  pietist  and  astrologer,  known 
as  the  "Hermit  of  the  Wissahickon,"  who  died  in  1708. 
The   frame   was  very  often  quite   plain  with  square   legs 

50 


'SI 


Q 
< 


^5 


06  ^ 


'^ 


CABINET  OF  OAK 

The  outer  doors  are  veneered  on  the  face  zc-ith  hexagonal  pieces  of  "  Thorn  Acacia"  wood. 

The  dratvers  within,  eleven  in  number,  are  veneered  with  walnut  with  an 

edging  of  sycamore.     Close  of  the  seventeenth  century. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


and  arms,  as  is  shown 
m  so  many  illustrations 
of  seventeenth  century 
life.  Dr.  Witt's  chair 
is  preserved  in  the 
American  Philosophical 
Society  in  Philadelphia. 
The  walnut  chairs 
in  the  illustration  on 
page  65  were  import- 
ed from  England  by 
Ralph  Wormeley  of 
Rosegiliy  Middlesex 

County,  Va.,  towards 
the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  were 
used      in     his    parlour. 

^  I 7TH' CENTURY    CHAIR 

Eleanor  Plater,  who  was  original  in  the  collection  of  the  American  Philoeophical 

r      lyyf               D     1     U  Society.     It  is  said  to  have  been  the  chair  of  Dr.  Christopher 

Sister      or        iVlrS.        Ixalpn  Witt,  mystic  astrologer  and  doctor,  «« the   Hermit   of  the 

Wi                   1                 '1  Wiscahkkon." 
ormeley,  and  married 

Governor  Gooch, embroidered  a  seat  for  these  chairs;  there 
are  six  in  the  set,  two  being  armchairs.  When  the  first 
Ralph  Wormeley  died  in  1703,  his  effects  were  sold 
and  the  chairs  were  bought  by  Mr.  John  Prosser  of 
White  Marshy  GloucevSter  County,  Va.,  whose  great-grand- 
daughter, Maud  Tabb,  married  John  Tayloe  Perrin,  a 
descendant  of  Ralph  Wormeley.  The  chairs  were  given 
to  Mrs.  Perrin  by  her  father.  Dr.  John  Prosser  Tabb. 
They  are  thus  among  the  oldest  authentic  specimens  of 
Virginia  furniture. 

Ralph   Wormeley   of  Rosegiil  (i 650-1 703)    owned  so 
great  an  estate  and  possessed  so  much  influence  that  Hart- 
s' 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


well,  Blair  and  Chilton  speak  of  him  in  The  Present  State 
of  Virginia  (1699)  as  "the  greatest  man  in  Virginia.'* 

"  Kosegilly  where  the  Wormeleys  lived  in  English  state,  ' 
writes  Bishop  Meade  in  his  Old  Churches  (1872),  "  was  situ- 
ated high  upon  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  River,  a  few 
miles  from  Old  Christ  Church.  It  was  a  large  and  hand- 
some specimen  of  an  old  colonial  mansion." 

The  inventory  of  the  estate  of  Colonel  Francis  Epes,  of 
Henrico  County,  Va,,  October  i,  1678,  will  show  the 
growing  luxury  of  the  planters. 


One    foure    foot   chest  of   drawers  seder 
[cedar  ?]  y  speckled  new  but  damnified, 
I  large  chest  of  drawers  new,   . 
I  small  table  damnified  though  new, 
I  large  folding-table*  new  but  damn, 
1  sacking  bottom  bedsteads  new, 
I  twisted  stand  new  &  ye  topp  of  another 
1  setts  of  curtaine  rodds, 
I  suite  of  tapestry  hanging, 

1  large  olive  wood  glasse,  one  large  walnut 
tree  glass  2  pr  of  screws, 

2  doz  of  Russia  leather  high  chairs,  . 
12  Turkey  worke  chairs,  10  of  which  new 

at  ;^4-  5,  two  broken  i, 

9  Camlett  chaires  7  of  them  new  at  7^^ 
pr  chaire  &  2  broken  i;^,    . 

One  Ellboe  chaire  damnifyed  though  new. 

One  large  new  feather  bed  with  camlett 
curtains  &  double  vallins  lind  with  yel- 
low silke,  bolster  pillow,  counterpane, 
Rodds  &  hooks  tops  &  stands  i  Cur- 
taine and  some  ffringe  damnifyed, 

1  yarn  rugg  &  i  blankett. 


i   s.    d. 
I-IO-O 

1-4-0 

5-0 
1-5-0 

2-10-0 

0-3-0 

5-6 
1 8-17-0 

4-14-0 
8-2-0 


2-10-0 
0-7-0 


24-5-0 
1-4-0 


*  The  folding-table  was  known  in  England  as  early  as  1556. 

5a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

£  s.  d. 
I   middle  seize  calve  skinn  truncke  with 

drawers,       ......     0-12—0 

One  sacke  cloth  bottome  bedstead,  .  .        1-6-0 

One  old  fFeather  bed  and  bolster,     .  .     2-10-0 

One  small   old   ffeather  bed  and    bolster 


not 


full, 


One    ffeather   bed,    bolster  &    2    pillows 

worne,         ...... 

2   yarne   ruggs   worne   ye  largest    10*   ye 

other  7*, 

One  middle  size  calve  skinn  truncke  with 

drawers,      ...... 

One  old  leather  truncke  with  locke  and 

key, 

One  old  chest  of  drawers  without  keys,     . 
One  very  old  fFeather  bed  &  bolster  rugg 

&  2  blanketts  &  one  old  beddstead, 
One  very   old    bedd    bolster    two   course 

blanketts  &  an  old  trundle  beddstead    . 
One  small  old  fFeather  bed  small  bolster 

&   I  canvis  bolster  &  a  small  rugg  all 

very  old,     ...... 

One  old  suite  of  Callicoe   curtaines  and 

vallaines,     ...... 

Eleven  pds  of  plate  at  3^^  p.  pd  is  . 

An  old  standing  cupboard  and  one  small 

old   table  &  one  old  broken  chaire  of 

wood,  ...... 

2  new  bedds  &  bollsters  &  3  new  pillows, 

2  New  Ruggs,         ..... 

3  new  blanketts,      ..... 
One    small     old     bed    of    fFeathers    one 

blankett,  bolster  i  pr  of  canvis  sheetes, 
one  old  Rugg  one  blacke  leather  truncke, 

One  pairof  bellowes  new. 

One  large  chest  with  lock  &  key  old, 

53 


1-0-0 

2-0-0 

17-0 

12-0 

3-4 
5-0 

I-IO-O 
I-O-O 

lO-O 

5-0 


2-0 
9-9-4 

I-O-O 

12-0 


6-0 

2-6 

7-<5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

£  s.  d. 

One  old  middle  size  chest  with  lock  &  key,  3-6 

One  small  old  chest  with  lock  &  key,  .  3-0 
Two  other  old  chests  without  keys  &  one 

without  hinges,   .....  lo-o 

One  very  old  long  table  &  one  little  ditto,  5-0 
One  old  coutch   i    leather  chaire  very  old 

&  lumber,  ......  3-0 

Three  old  beddsteads,       ....  6-0 

One    small    hammock    new    &     one    old 

coverlidd,    ......  1  3-0 

Two  cushions  &  one  turkey  workt  carpet,  1-2-0 
One    pr     of    new     Curtaines    &     vallins 

(Kidderminster),           ....  10-0 

One  old  Rugg  yarne,       ....  5-0 

One  old  bible  &  6  other  small  old  books,  5-0 
Two  small  writing  trunckes  with  locks  & 

keys     &    one     small    very    old    blacke 

truncke  (calve  skin),  ....  4-0 
Two  canes  one  of  them  broke  with  silver 

heads,          ......  7-0 

I  small  looking  glasse      ....  i— o 

(Total /302-1-2) 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  no  matter  how  scanty 
was  the  furniture,  it  invariably  included  some  receptacle 
for  clothes,  etc.  The  box,  case,  chest,  and  trunk  are  often 
found  in  the  same  inventory.  It  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
between  the  case  and  box,  but  the  chest  was  an  article  of 
some  decorative  importance.  The  oak,  or  cedar  chest  was 
more  or  less  ornate  in  accordance  with  the  wealth  and 
taste  of  the  owner.  Sometimes  it  rested  on  its  own  flat  base 
and  sometimes  on  short  legs.  Frequently  it  had  more  than 
one  lock  and  key,  as  was  the  case  with  the  one  sent  to  the 
Ashley  River  by  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  mentioned  later. 
Many  old  chests  are  heavily  bound  with  iron.     The  simpler 

34 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


kinds  would  merely  be 
carved  with  the  initials 
of  the  owner  and  the 
date  of  constructions. 
Sometimes  they  had  an 
appropriate  motto  or 
warning,  such  as  "Come 
not  in  jest  to  open  this 
chest."  The  lid  of  the 
finer  specimens  would 
often  be  inlaid  with  a  fo- 
liage design  and  the  front 
and  sides  would  have 
carved  panels  represent- 
ing biblical  scenes  or  my- 
thological personages,  or 
simply  CJothic  tracery  or 
floral  scrolls.  Some  of 
the  clothes  chests  at  one 
end  contained  a  small 
inner  box  with  hinged  lid  for  holding  fans,  laces  and  other 
feminine  trifles.  Drawers  were  soon  inserted  into  the  lower 
part  of  the  chest  and  the  next  step  was  to  cut  the  remain- 
ing part  of  the  front  into  doors  and  put  shelves  inside. 
When  towards  the  close  of  the  century  Colonel  Fitzhugh 
sends  to  London  for  some  silver  plate,  he  stipulates  that  it 
shall  be  packed  in  chests,  because  of  their  great  usefulness, 
though  he  evidently  feels  that  he  has  to  excuse  his  extrava- 
gance. These  chests,  therefore,  must  have  been  something 
more  than  mere  packing-cases.  He  was  ordering  something 
that  he  could  not  cause  to  be  made  by  his  own  workmen. 
The  chc;:t  with  drawers  occurs  frequently  in  the  inven- 
ts 


OAKEN    CHEST    OF    DRAWERS 

Consisting  of  four  long  drawers,  each  of  which  is  decor- 
ated in  front  with  two  panels  of  raised  moulding.  The 
escutcheon  plates  and  drop  handles  are  of  brass.  The  whole 
rests  on  four  spirally  turned  legs  strengthened  by  plain  bars. 
Late  seventeenth  century.  Height,  4  ft.  ^'4  in.;  length, 
3  ft.  1  m.;  width,  i  ft.  10  in. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

tories  early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  A  further  de- 
velopment consisted  in  topping  the  drawers  with  a  "  bureau," 
which  was  used  in  its  literal  sense  of  "  office."  It  was  closed 
by  a  sloping  flat  to  be  used  as  a  writing-table,  with  two 
sliding  "draw-out"  supports.  This  top  usually  contained 
pigeon-holes  and  drawers  both  visible  and  secret.  The 
chest  with  drawers  was  quite  an  expensive  article  of  furni- 
ture in  Virginia  in  1676.  G.  F.  Beckwith  owned  one 
valued  at  about  $70  present  money.  He  also  possessed  a 
"chest  with  drawers,"  "a  box  with  drawers,"  and  "  a  desk 
with  drawers,"  all  worth  about  $80.  Another  instance  is 
found  the  same  year  in  Robert  Macklin,  whose  parlour 
contained  a  great  "elm  chest,"  a  deal  ditto,  a  "trunk  with 
drawers,"  a  "Dutch  case,"  a  "little  nest  of  drawers,"  and 
"two  old  trunks,"  valued  in  all  at  400  pounds  tobacco.  In 
the  same  year  Captain  T.  Marshall  owned  a  "  box  of 
drawers,"  and  Captain  J.  Carr  a  "chest  of  drawers,"  valued 
at  450  pounds  tobacco.  Chests  of  drawers  were  also  pos- 
sessed by  N.  Bacon  (1694)  £1,  and  another  at  14  shillings, 
and  Henry  Watkins   (1700),  £2. 

A  desk  of  some  kind  was  found  in  every  respectable 
house.  Examples  are  plentiful  towards  the  end  of  the 
century.  In  1684  the  Rev.  Thomas  Perkins  owned  a  desk 
and  sealskin  case,  250  pounds  tobacco.  Other  instances 
are:  an  old  desk,  Mrs.  Fauntleroy  (1686);  two  desks,  250 
pounds  tobacco.  Captain  J.  Carr  (1676) ;  Thomas  Howlett, 
one  (1685),  and  N.  Bacon  another,  at  five  shillings,  in 
1694.  Captain  J.  Goodwin  may  end  the  list  with  one  in 
1701. 

Miss  Mary  Jones  of  Gloucester  County,  Va.,  owns  an 
ancient  desk  belonging  to  the  Fauntleroy  family,  which 
may  be  the  very  one  recorded  above. 

56 


CABINET  OF  WALNUT  WOOD 

ff^tb  tmfo  cuphearJs  and  tivo  Jraiuers^  above  nx-bicb  is  a  canopy  supporteJ  on  four  balusters  j    the 

tvbole  is  ormamemteJ  ivilh  carvings  in  relief  of  men  on  horseback,  cherubs'  heads ^ 

lions'  masks,  figures,  and  fruit.       English^  tf-venteentb  century. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Dressing-tables  were  to  be  found  in  considerable  profu- 
sion. Examples  still  in  existence,  of  the  date  of  1 690,  are 
veneered  with  walnut  as  well  as  solid.  Some  of  them  had 
two  deep  side  drawers  and  a  shallower  central  one  with 
brass  key-plates  and  handles.  Others  were  inlaid  in  a 
band  around  the  top  of  the  table  and  faces  of  the  drawers 
with  box-wood  and  ebony.  Sometimes  the  legs  were 
plain  and  sometimes  they  showed  the  growing  Dutch  in- 
fluence and  were  of  the  cabriole  shape  with  web  feet.  A 
typical  combination  dressing-table,  "scrutore,"  and  swing- 
glass  (circalated  1700)  is  of  walnut  with  the  glass  bevelled 
and  the  frame  slightly  carved  and  gilt.  The  front  has 
beading  and  moulding  ornamentation  and  the  supports  are 
four  cabriole  legs  with  shell  carvings.  The  looking-glass 
was  sometimes  fixed  to  the  top  of  a  case  or  chest  of  draw- 
ers. Captain  James  Archer  (1607)  owned  "one  chest  of 
drawers,  one  dressing  box,  three  looking-glasses,  and  one 
glass  case,"  all  valued  at  ^4—15—0. 

The  first  item  of  the  inventory  of  Colonel  Epes,  given 
above,  shows  that  the  "chest  of  drawers"  was  often  of 
considerable  size.  Two  other  items  supply  us  with  exam- 
ples of  trunks  containing  drawers.  The  trunks  were 
"leather,"  "calf-skin,"  "seal-skin,"  "gilt,"  and  on  at  least 
one  occasion  we  find  an  "oyster-shell  trunk."  Special  im- 
portance was  attached  to  locks  and  keys  and  their  absence 
is  usually  noted.  The  metal-work  was  highly  valued. 
Curtain-rods  even,  as  in  the  above  inventory,  possessed  a 
value  by  no  means  despicable,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  the 
absence  of  hinges  is  considered  worth  recording,  and  even 
the  screws  of  the  looking-glasses  are  not  forgotten. 

Colonel  Epes  was  one  of  many  rich  planters  whose 
walls  were  hung  with    tapestry.      Hangings  worth  nearly 

57 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

$500  in  our  money  must  have  contributed  considerable 
elegance  to  his  rooms.  The  Turkey-work  carpet  men- 
tioned is  probably  nothing  but  a  table-cloth,  as  in  so  many 
previous  examples.  The  two  cushions  mentioned  with  it, 
all  together  valued  at  twenty-two  shillings,  were  probably 
embroidered.  Cushions  were  in  great  favour  and  were 
found  in  great  profusion  in  the  houses  of  the  seventeenth 
century;  the  lines  of  the  seats  were  somewhat  rigid  and  the 
comfort  of  the  sitter  depended  largely  on  cushions,  espe- 
cially as  in  many  cases  the  carving  was  not  so  disposed  as 
to  contribute  to  personal  ease.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the 
projecting  carving  in  the  backs  of  the  chairs  gradually  dis- 
appears, or  is  subdued.  The  finer  examples  of  cushions 
were  Turkey-work,  silk,  satin,  velvet,  damask,  and  other 
materials  that  lent  themselves  to  embroidery.  Fine  needle- 
work was  a  common  female  accomplishment  during  this 
century  and  special  bequests  of  worked  material  are  fre- 
quently found  in  the  wills. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  mirror  with  olive-wood 
frame  in  Colonel  Epes's  inventory  came  from  Italy ;  the 
large  "walnut-tree  glasse  "  was,  in  all  probability,  a  produc- 
tion of  the  Vauxhall  factory  recently  established. 

We  may  take  another  example  of  this  period  in  Nicho- 
las Wyatt  of  Maryland,  whose  inventory  was  sworn  to 
September  25,  1676.  His  house  consisted  of  a  hall,  par- 
lour, hall  chamber,  porch  chamber,  parlour  chamber, 
kitchen,  cellar,  milkhouse,  kitchen  chamber,  kitchen,  but- 
tery, kitchen  loft,  and  quarter.  In  the  hall  were  seven 
framed  pictures  on  the  walls,  and  "a  window-cloth"  at 
the  window.  There  was  one  oblong  table  and  "carpet" 
and  six  joint  stools:  here  the  family  took  their  meals. 
Along  the  walls  and  disposed  in  various  places  were  sixteen 

58 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Turkey-work  chairs,  and  seven  leather  chairs  in  addition. 
In  the  big  fire-place  were  brass  andirons,  and  beside  them 
stood  tongs,  shovels  and  a  pair  of  bellows.  A  couch-bed 
with  its  appurtenances  stood  in  one  corner  of  the  big  room, 
and  a  cabinet  and  small  trunk  in  another.  A  chest  of 
drawers  with  "cloth  and  cushion,"  a  side  cupboard  (not 
fixed  to  the  wall,  but  a  separate  piece  of  furniture)  also 
with  "cloth  and  cushion,"  containing  "a  parcel  of  books," 
"a  beer  glass"  and  "snuffers";  and  a  looking-glass  and  a 
round  table  completed  the  list.  Entering  the  parlour  we 
find  a  four-post  bedstead  with  curtains  and  valance,  and  on 
it  a  comfortable  feather-bed,  bolster  and  pillows  with  a 
gaily  coloured  rug  above  all.  There  is  also  a  couch  with 
its  bed  and  furnishings.  Though  the  floor  is  bare  there  is 
a  "window  cloth"  at  the  window,  and  six  framed  pictures 
adorn  the  walls.  Against  one  wall  stands  a  chest  of  draw- 
ers covered  with  a  cloth.  The  looking-glass  that  is  men- 
tioned probably  stands  on  this,  as  does  also  a  silver  caudle 
cup.  A  cupboard  "with  cloth  and  cushion"  contains 
three  wine-glasses,  a  brush  and  a  nest  of  hour-glasses.  The 
room  has  no  table,  but  is  well  supplied  with  chairs.  There 
is  one  cushioned  wicker  chair  and  three  straw,  three  wooden 
and  four  Turkey-work  chairs.  The  fire-place  is  furnished 
with  fire-irons  and  andirons,  and  a  seal-skin  trunk  against 
the  wall. 

In  the  "hall  chamber"  is  another  four-post  bedstead 
with  the  usual  bedding.  It  is  furnished  with  a  pair  of 
serge  curtains  and  valance.  A  trundle  bed  (that  rolls  under 
the  big  one)  also  has  its  bedding  and  furniture  covered 
with  a  counterpane.  A  table  with  "carpet"  and  five 
leather  chairs  and  a  joint-stool  help  to  make  the  room 
comfortable.     There  is  an   extra  trundle  bed  and  bedding 

59 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


covered  with  an  embroidered  rug.  In  the  fire-place  are  the 
shovel,  tongs  and  andirons.  There  is  also  a  looking-glasj 
and,  finally,  two  chests  and  a  trunk,  one  of  which  contains 
five  pairs  of  sheets. 

In  the  "porch  chamber"  is  a  "standing  bedstead,  bed 

and  furniture  with  dar- 
nick  curtains  and  val- 
ence." Four  pictures 
relieve  the  bareness  of 
these  walls  also.  Last- 
ly, there  is  a  table  and 
"carpet,"  a  joint-stool 
and  four  other  stools, 
three  of  which  have 
cushions. 

In  the  "  parlour 
chamber  "  we  find  an- 
other "  standing  bed- 
stead, bed  and  furni- 
ture," and  a  couch 
with  the  same.  Three 
more  pictures  are  on 
the  walls,  and  the 
room  is  supplied  with 
a  table  with  a  cloth  on  it,  a  straw  chair  and  a  form. 
Here  also  is  a  chest  and  a  box  containing  the  household 
linen.  The  latter  consists  of  one  pair  of  "  pillow- 
coats,"  seven  pairs  of  sheets,  two  diaper  table-cloths, 
five  other  table-cloths,  twelve  diaper  napkins,  and  four 
dozen  and  four  other  napkins,  fifteen  pillow-coats,  seven 
towels,  three  small  table-cloths,  and  one  old  table-cloth. 
The  accommodations  for  the  servants  are  not  so  scanty 

60 


CABIN  tl 

The  upper  part  is  a  cupboard  with  two  doors,  inc 
shelves,  and  the  lower  part  fitted  with  four  drawers.  It  is  of" 
oak,  veneered  with  various  woods,  chiefly  walnut,  and  has  in 
several  panels  figure  and  floral  ornament  in  pear  wood  inlaid  in 
ebony.  About  1670-I0.  Height,  6  ft.  9  in.;  width,  4  ft. 
6  in.;  depth,  2iJ^  in.      Bought  £\r. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


as  usual.  In  the  "kitchen  cham- 
ber" is  one  flock  bed  and  furniture, 
one  feather  ditto,  a  looking-glass, 
a  chest  and  some  boxes. 

The  cabinet  mentioned  in  the 
above  inventory  was  common  to 
the  homes  of  almost  all  well-to-do 
people.  In  mediaeval  days  it  was 
almost  as  necessary  to  the  rich  as 
the  chest  was  to  the  poor.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  nearly  every 
man  who  had  valuables  of  small  bulk 
possessed  one.  Many  early  examples 
are  very  ornate.  It  was  usually 
carved  and  often  inlaid  with  ebony, 
ivory,  and  mother  of  pearl  in  various 
patterns.  Oak  inlaid  with  walnut 
frequently  occurs.  The  ornamen- 
tation was  very  varied.  Panelling 
was  exceedingly  common  and 
cabinets  decorated  with  turned  half- 
rails  were  quite  characteristic  of 
the  period.  At  the  close  of  the 
century  Dutch  styles  prevailed  in 
England,  as  was  only  natural  with 
a  Dutch  king  on  the  throne  and 
Dutch  celebrities  in  English  homes. 
The  cabinets  then  have  florid  mar- 
quetry decoration  of  large  natural 
tulips  and  other  flowers.  The  con- 
tinental wood-work  was  working  its 
way  into  favour  before  this,  however, 

6i 


SECTION    OF 
I7TH    CENTURY     CABINET 


CARVED  OAK 

I7TH  CENTURY  CABINET 

Decoration*  limiUr  to  the  Engbih  late 
Etiiabethan  or  Jacobean  Kyle.  Memith, 
about  1610.  Height,  3  ft.  6 in., length,  4 
ft.  I  In  ;  width,  1  it.  8  in.    Bought  /'18. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  even  before  1625  the  carved  fronts  of  cabinets  executed 
in  the  Low  Countries,  where  carving  had  reached  such  a 
high  pitch  of  excellence,  were  sent  down  the  canals,  and 
shipped  to  the  eastern  ports  of  England.  The  backs  and 
sides  were  added  by  village  carpenters.  The  same  system 
would  undoubtedly  prevail  in  the  English  colonies. 

Hitherto  we  have  said  nothing  about  tables,  though  the 
lists  given  will  have  afforded  a  clear  idea  of  that  article  of 
furniture  during  the  seventeenth  century.  Traces  of  the 
Tudor  period  still  lingered  in  the  styles,  the  constantly  re- 
curring "Spanish  table"  is  Elizabethan  pure  and  simple  ;  in 
fact,  many  an  inventory  carries  us  directly  back  to  the  day 
when  the  poet  wrote  : 

*■*■  Set  me  fine  Spanish  tables  in  the  hall^ 
See  they  be  fitted  all ; 
Let  there  be  room  to  eat 
And  order  taken  that  there  want  no  meat. 
See  every  sconce  and  candlestick  made  bright^ 
That  without  tapers  they  may  give  a  light. 
Look  to  the  presence  :      are  the  carpets  spread^ 
The  dais  o'er  the  head^ 
The  cushions  in  the  chairs^ 
And  all  the  candies  lighted  on  the  stairs  ? 
Perfume  the  chambers  and  in  any  case 
Let  each  man  give  attendance  in  his  place.^^* 

Another  table  that  was  found  in  the  better  class  of 
house  was  the  **  folding  table."  This  was  probably  of 
Dutch  origin.  It  varied  in  size,  the  smallest  having  twelve 
legs  and  the  largest  having  twenty  legs.  These  legs  could 
be  pulled  out  to  support  leaves  and  by  this  means  the  table 
could   be  enlarged  to  three  times  its  ordinary  size.      The 


*  Christ  Church  MS. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


'f'vnm 


§mmM!Mimk'm^. 


I7TH    CENTURY    OAK    TABLE    WITH    EXTENDING    TOP 
The  frame  is  incised  aitd  carved  ;  the  four  baluster  legs  arc  turned  and  carved.      Heavy  straining  raila 
join  the  Ii^s  near  the  ground.     About  1610.      Lent  by  the  Governor  of  the  Charterhouse.      ^^230. 

turned  legs  were  no  thicker  than  was  necessary.  In 
the  inventories  the  wood  of  which  the  tahles  were  com- 
posed is  very  rarely  mentioned.  When  imported,  they 
were  of  the  oak  which  still  lingered  in  English  mansions. 
The  native  walnut,  oak,  cedar,  pine,  and  cypress  were 
largely  used  in  the  native-made  tables.  A  curious  kind 
greatly  in  favour  in  England  during  the  period  was  the 
chair-table.  The  back  of  the  chair  turned  on  a  hinge  and 
formed  a  small  table.  In  1682  we  find  one  valued  at  three 
shillings  in  the  possession  of  Christopher  Branch  of  Henrico 
County,  Va.;  another  occurs  among  the  possessions  of 
Francis  Moss  in  1686.  There  was  considerable  variety  in 
the  shape  of  the  seventeenth  century  table.  The  round 
and  the  oval  are  frequently  mentioned.  In  1673,  Elizabeth 
Butler  bequeaths  an  "oval"   and  a  "drawing-table." 

A  drawing-table  is  an  extension  table.  I  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  the  explanation  given  by  S.  T.  Robinson 
in  the  y/r/   'Journal:     "The  end   leaves   were  fixed   upon 

6j 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

graduated  bearers,  and  to  prevent  their  upper  surfaces  from 
being  scratched  as  they  are  drawn  out  a  slight  vertical 
movement  is  allowed  to  the  centre  part  of  the  table  which 
permits  it  to  be  lifted  up  till  they  are  quite  clear  of  it. 
The  extent  of  the  movement  is  regulated  by  the  projecting 
heads  of  the  two  pins  which  fit  closely  into  the  immovable 
crosspiece.  As  soon  as  the  leaf  is  drawn  out,  the  free  play 
given  to  these  pins  in  the  crosspiece  permits  the  centre- 
piece to  fall  into  its  original  position  which  it  does  by  its 
own  gravity.  The  leaves  being  now  raised  by  the  gradu- 
ated bearers  to  the  required  height,  the  upper  surface  of  the 
table  becomes  level  throughout.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say 
that  the  adjustment  of  these  slides  is  a  matter  of  nice 
calculation,  and  that  great  ingenuity  has  been  shown  in 
bringing  about  so  satisfactory  a  result  .  .  .  The  whole 
mechanism  is  admirably  considered  for  the  purpose  it  has 
to  fulfill.  Indeed  its  adaptation  for  its  purpose  was  so  good 
that  the  principle  was  long  retained ;  and  Sheraton,  so  late 
as  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  advocates  its 
use  for  many  writing  or  other  tables,  and  gives  the  rule  for 
finding  the  exact  rake  of  the  slides  and  the  technical  detail 
of  all  the  other  parts." 

In  1676  Thomas  Skinner  owned  a  "  Dutch  folding 
table,"  and  twenty-five  years  later  we  find  John  Goodwin 
with  another  large  one  of  the  same  kind  valued  at  jC 2-0-0. 
He  also  owned  a'  small  folding  and  a  small  cross-legged 
table.  Stephen  Gill,  as  early  as  1653,  had  a  "small  side 
table,"  and  in  1655  Robert  Wilkinson  possessed  a  "short 
leaf"  table.  The  "falling"  table  also  was  by  no  means 
rare.  Thomas  Osborne  had  a  "sideboard"  table  in  1696, 
and  lastly  we  find  a  slate  table  valued  at  ^^i  ;  and  a  small 
table  and  drawer  in  the  inventory  of  H.  Watkins,  1700. 

64 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

Card-tables  as  separate  articles  of  furniture  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  in  use  until  late  in  the  century,  when  they 
were  probably  imported  by  Dutch  ships.  Cards,  however, 
were  a  very  favorite  means  of  passing  the  hours  of  leisure, 
and  gambling  was  probably  as  prevalent   as  drinking.      In 


WALNUT    CHAIRS 


Originally  brionging  to  Ralph  Wormeley  of  Virginia.     Now  owned  by  Mr«.  John  Tayioe  Perrin, 
of  BaltiiDorc.     See  page  $i. 


William  Fitzhugh's  letters  we  find  several  references  to  deep 
potations  and  his  own  lack  of  prowess  with  the  cup.  Cards 
arc  occasionally  considered  worth  recording  in  the  inven- 
tories. In  1 70 1  Richard  Dunbar  left  behind  him  in  a 
wicked  world  twenty-nine  dozen  packs  of  plaving  cards, 
valued  at  j(' 1-9-0,  and  in  the  same  year  Alexander  Young 

65 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

left  twenty  dozen  "pack  cards,"  appraised  at  ^i.       These 
were  probably  kept  for  sale. 

Pictures  existed  in  far  greater  numbers  than  is  generally 
supposed,  though  their  nature  and   subject  are  hardly  ever 
specified    during    the  seventeenth  century.      **  A  parcel  of 
pictures  "  is  a  common  item  in  the  inventories  of  the  more 
prosperous  class. 

Books  were  scarce  and  seem  to  have  been  appraised  in 
accordance  with  their  age.     Half  a  dozen  odd  volumes  was 
the  utmost  possessed  by  the  average  individual,  and  if  these 
happened  to  be  old,  the  value  attributed  was  insignificant. 
Ralph  Wormeley  was  an  exception,  as  at  his  death,  in  1701, 
he  had  more  than  400  works  in  his  library.      Richard  Lee 
was  another.      He  possessed  more  than   300  books.     The 
clergy  and  doctors  sometimes  had  a  considerable  number  of 
volumes  dealing  with  their  own  professions ;   but  '*  a  parcel 
of  old   books"   was  sufficient    description   for  the  average 
library.      Dr.  John  Willoughby,  of  Rappahannock  County, 
had  one  of  the  respectable  libraries,  while  of  the  clergy, 
Thomas  Perkins  (clerk)  had  only: 

lbs.  tobacco 
A  pcell  of  old  parchmt  &  paper  covered  books,  050 
Another  pcell  of  books,  ....      258 

3  books  at  ......     450 

One  bible  and  common  prayer  book,     .  .124 

Another  parcel  of  books,  .  .  .210 

Dr.  Willoughby's  library  was  as  follows  : 

Inv.  Mch.  3,  1686. 

6  Books  of  Phisick  in  folio,  .  .  .  240 

14     "                 "         "  quarto,  .  .  .  220 

8        "                 "         "   octavo,  .  ,  .  075 

16     "               "        "  XIJ,  .  .  .  096 

66 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


6  history  books  in  folio, 

12  "  "       "  quarto,  most  old, 
A  bible  in  large  quarto, 

2  Books  of  Divinity  in  folio, 

20      "  "  "  quarto, 

27      "  "  "  octavo,  most  old, 

25      "  "  "  XI J, 

13  old  Books,      ..... 
A  parcel  of  old  imperfect  books, 

2  Books  of  Law  in  folio, 


4       " 

(( 

"  quarto 

9      " 

(C 

"   8°, 

23    " 

(C 

"  XVJ, 

lbs.  tobacco 
120 
120 
120 
100 
340 
270 
230 
030 
030 
150 
,080 
180 
230 


Table  forks  did  not  come  into  use  till  the  close  of  this 
period,  the  "fFork"  or  "Heshfork"  being  merely  the  large 
one  used  in  the  kitchen  to  remove  the  meat  from  the  spit 
or  pot.  In  1 70 1  John  Goodwin's  inventory  shows  a  case 
of  ivory-hafted  knives  and  forks  at  the  surprisingly  low 
value  of  seven  shillings.  The  statement  in  Leah  and  Rachel 
(1656),  "There  is  good  store  of  plate  in  many  houses,"  is 
abundantly  justified  by  the  inventories. 

Warming-pans  were  a  necessity.  During  the  seven- 
teenth century  they  were  commonly  in  England  orna- 
mented in  various  ways,  generally  with  subjects  either  of 
figures  or  of  scrolls  of  foliage  beaten  up  in  relief.  In 
richer  examples  the  brass  cover  was  cut  through  in  per- 
forated or  openwork.  Ladies  and  cavaliers,  peacocks  and 
fiowers,  arc  found  as  decorations,  and  the  incised  carving 
on  the  figures  was  often  carefully  done.  The  handle  was 
usually  of  iron,  fitted  into  wood.  The  handles  of  the 
finer  examples  have  often  brass  mounts.  Fourteen  inches 
was  the  usual  diameter  of  the  pan. 

67 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  conditions  of  trade  in 
Virginia.  English  ships  brought  in  most  of  the  articles  of 
household  use,  but  not  all.  The  home  authorities  made 
strenuous  but  not  altogether  successful  efforts  to  exclude 
the  pushing  Dutch  traders.  Dutch  furniture  found  its 
way  into  the  houses  and  has  left  its  mark  in  the  inven- 
tories.     Instances  have  already  been  given. 

The  influence  of  the  French  Renaissance  was  beginning 
to  tell,  and  fashion  also  created  a  strong  demand  for  the 
wares  in  the  manufacture  of  which  the  Dutch  particularly 
excelled.  Marquetry  was  one  of  the  distinguishing  char- 
acteristics of  their  furniture,  and  we  may  be  permitted  to 
say  a  few  words  concerning  this  form  of  inlaying. 

In  western  Europe  during  the  seventeenth  century 
marquetry  was  extensively  used  and  became  the  leading 
feature  of  furniture  decoration.  Inlaying  had  long  been 
in  use,  but  the  new  marquetry  was  a  picturesque  composi- 
tion, a  more  complete  attempt  at  pictorial  representation. 
The  older  designs  represent  natural  flowers,  especially 
tulips,  foliage,  birds  and  animals,  all  in  gay  tints,  generally 
the  self  colours  of  the  woods  that  were  employed.  Some- 
times the  eyes  and  other  salient  points  are  in  ivory  and 
mother-of-pearl.  In  the  earlier  French  marquetry  designs 
picturesque  landscapes,  broken  architecture  and  figures  are 
represented,  and  colours  are  occasionally  stained  on  the 
wood.  Ebony  and  ivory  were  materials  much  in  favour 
for  this  inlaying,  as  was  also  the  case  in  Germany  and 
Italy.  When  the  art  crossed  into  England  with  William 
of  Orange,  Dutch  marquetry  furniture  became  the  fashion 
in  the  form  of  bandy-legged  chairs,  upright  clock 
fronts,  secretaries,  or  bureaus,  or  writing-cabinets,  which 
in   the   upper  and   middle    parts  were    closed   with   doors, 

68 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


as  well  as  other  pieces  that  offered  services  for  such 
decoration. 

Under  this  influence  the  chairs  and  other  articles  of 
furniture  relinquished  their  severe  lines  and  assumed  the 
curves  that  are  charac- 
teristic of  the  ensuing 
period.  A  good  exam- 
ple of  this  is  afforded 
by  a  chair,  which,  per- 
haps, owes  more  to  the 
influence  of  the  French 
Renaissance  than  the 
Dutch.  It  belonged  to 
the  second  William  Byrd 
immediately  at  the  close 
of  this  period,  and  was 
one  of  a  set  used  in  the 
dining-room  of  his  home 
at  Westover.  The  back 
and  seat  are  stuffed  and 
upholstered  in  velvet, 
the  back  legs  terminate 
in  the  hoof  form  and 
the  front  in  the  ball  and 
claw,    which    Chippen- 

11  1     „^      1  •    1  1         ward  directly  from  the  corner  of  the  iCJt  and  i*  boldly  and 

dale    adopted     with     such      g^cefaUy  ci^  with  the  acanthu.. 

affection.        The     leg 

curves  outward  directly  from  the  corner  of  the  seat,  and 
is  boldly  and  gracefully  carved  with  the  acanthus.  This 
chair  now  belongs  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Byrd  Nicholas,  of 
Washington,  D.  C. 

It  presents  a  striking  contrast   in   general  style  to  the 


CHAIR  SHOWING  THE  RENAISSANCE 
INFLUENCE 
Belonged  to  the  tecond  Colonel  William  Byrd  of  West* 
over;  now  owned  by  Mist  Elizabeth  Byrd  Nicholas, 
Washington,  D.  C.  The  back  and  seat  are  stuffed  and 
upholstered  in  velvet;  the  back  legs  terminate  in  hoof 
form,  the  front  in  the  ball  and  claw.      The  leg  curves  out- 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

black  oak  sideboard  on  opposite  page.  The  latter  is  an 
English  piece  and  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  Lord  Balti- 
more. It  was  long  in  possession  of  the  family  of  Charles 
Carroll,  of  Carrollton  of  Maryland,  and  is  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Edward  C.  Pickering  of  the  Observatory,  Cambridge, 
Mass.  The  lion's  head,  in  high  relief,  is  a  bold  piece  of 
carving ;  the  brass  handles  are  modern  additions. 

Home-made  furniture  was  also  found  in  convsiderable 
quantities,  though  only  the  rougher  kinds.  Francis  Finch 
(1678)  had  a  "couch  made  in  this  country;"  John  Good- 
win (1701)  owned  a  "Virginia  table,"  and  a  "Virginia- 
made  bedstead"  is  sometimes  mentioned.  The  general 
absence  of  home-made  furniture  was,  however,  remarkable. 
In  describing  Virginia,  in  1 705,  Beverley  says  :  "  They  are 
such  abominable  ill  husbands  that,  though  their  country  be 
overrun  with  wood,  yet  they  have  all  their  wooden  ware 
from  England — their  cabinets,  chairs,  tables,  stools,  chests, 
boxes,  cart-wheels  and  all  other  things,  even  so  much  as 
their  bowls  and  birchen  brooms,  to  the  eternal  reproach  of 
their  laziness."  We  have  seen  that  this  statement  is  some- 
what too  sweeping.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  authorities 
rather  than  native  laziness  that  was  responsible  for  the  con- 
dition of  affairs.  The  Southerners  were  prevented,  if  pos- 
sible, from  trading  with  their  enterprising  brethren  in  New 
England  as  well  as  with  the  Dutch.  The  following  ex- 
tracts from  the  Maryland  Assembly  Proceedings  are  inter- 
esting in  this  connection  : 

May  28, 1697. 
Proposed : 

4.  "  That  a  law  be  made  to  lay  an  Imposicon  upon  all  manner  of 
wooden  ware  and  ffish  brought  from  New  England  &  other  adjacent 
places,  as  also  upon  Sugar  &  Mallassoes  imported  by  strangers." 

70 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

June  the  8th,  1697. 

The  Lords  of  Council  for  trade  &  plantacons  laid  before  the 
house  as  followith  : 

6.  "  Generally  all  the  Inhabitants  of  this  province  being  La- 
bourers are  imployed  in  planting  tobacco  except  Coopers  Carpen- 
ters, some  few  that  navigate  sloopes  and  a  very  small  number  of 
other  artificers  having  relation  to  Tobacco,  all  which  excepted  (by 
Estimacon)  make  not  above  the  60th  part  of  such  labourers." 

8.  "  This  privince  hath  little  traffick  with  any  other  his  Matys 
Colonys  in  America  or  elsewhere,  and  the  little  traffick  which  is 
vsed  is  by  exporting  hence  porke,  beife,  pipe  staves,  timber  and  such 
like,  together  with  wheat,  flour  and  some  small  quantities  of  tobacco, 
to  Barbadoes  either  by  small  Craft  belonging  to  this  province  or 
New  England  who  trade  here  for  rum,  sugar  &  malasses  most 
especially  &  some  parcells  of  fish  &  some  (inconsiderable)  wooden 
wares  of  their  owne  manufacture." 

The  court  records  of  Essex  County,  Virginia,  for  May 
7,  1685,  afford  interesting  details  from  which  we  may 
form  a  picture  of  the  furnishing  of  a  court-house  of  the 
day.  It  seems  that  a  chair  made  by  a  local  carpenter  was 
good  enough  for  the  President  of  the  Court,  and  that  the 
other  members  had  to  be  content  with  a  hard  bench. 

"  Ordered  that  Maximilian  Robinson  be  allowed  450  lbs.  tob 
&  cask,  the  price  for  a  table  by  him  sold  for  the  use  of  the  Court 
to  be  held  on  the  North  side  of  the  River. 

"  Whereas,  it  is  agreed  between  this  Court  &  Thomas  Bradly 
that  the  sd  Bradley  do  between  this  and  the  beginning  of  July  next 
make  and  in  workman-like  manner  set  up  Banisters  Cross  the 
Roome  where  the  Court  is  held  on  the  North  side  the  River,  of  an 
Usuall  hight  &  distance  &  inclosing  the  table,  with  a  doore  to  pass 
to  the  table,  convenient  in  some  part  of  the  said  Banisters.  And 
that  the  sd  Bradley  do  make  a  fform  answerable  to  the  sd  table  and 
a  Bench  of  Plank  sufficient  to  sitt  upon  in  the  Roome  &  place  of 
the  bench  that  now  is.     Also  a  Chaire  for  the  President  of  the  Court 

7« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

at  the  upper  End  of  the  table  next  the  shed,  and  lastly  that  he  raise 
and  Enlarge  the  Back  Window  of  the  Court  house  next  the  Orchard 
and  make  one  more  window  on  the  same  side  (4  ft.  sq.)  and  to  fill 
up  the  back  doore  of  the  said  Roome  if  it  shall  hereafter  seem  nec- 
essary for  wch  sd  Work  (he  shall  be  allowed)  1 100  lbs  of  Tobb  & 
Cask   Convenient." 

While  doing  this  work  he  was  to  have  his  "  dyett  & 
Lodging  with   Peter  Tayler  "  (who  was  to  be  paid  later). 

At  this  Court  were  present  Colonel  John  Stone,  Cap- 
tain Sam'l  Blomfield,  Captain  Geo.  Tayler,  Mr.  Jas.  Har- 
rison, Mr.  H'y  Awbrey,  and  Mr.  Sam'l  Peacheyo 

A  comparison  of  the  furniture  imported  by  the  wealthy 
settlers  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  with  the  contemporary 
furniture  used  in  England  will  only  prove  again  that  Eng- 
lish life  was  transplanted  as  far  as  was  possible  to  the  shores 
of  the  glittering  Chesapeake.  In  many  respects  the  planter 
lived  as  does  the  English  country  gentleman  to-day.  His 
was  a  life  of  ease  and  pleasure  and  generous  hospitality,  but 
not  of  idleness.  The  interests  of  the  land-owner  and 
planter  were  enormous,  and  his  duties  as  importer  and 
merchant  were  not  less  significant.  We  have  already  seen 
that  ships  landed  their  wares  at  the  foot  of  his  lawn ;  but  we 
have  not  mentioned  that  with  the  gift  that  the  English 
possess  of  making  attractive  homes  in  any  strange  land,  the 
settlers  of  the  South  spared  neither  thought  nor  pains  to 
surround  themselves  with  comforts  and  beauty.  For  ex- 
ample, one  George  Menifie  came  to  Virginia  in  1623,  and 
in  1634  we  find  him  living  at  Littleton  on  the  James 
River,  not  far  below  Jamestown,  with  a  large  garden  that 
"  contained  fruits  of  Holland  and  Roses  of  Provence ;  his 
orchard  was  planted  with  apple,  pear  and  cherry  trees ;  and 
he  cultivated  here  the  first  peach  trees  introduced  into  Amer- 

7» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ica.  Around  the  house  grew,  in  the  fashion  of  the  time, 
rosemary,  thyme  and  marjoram." 

What  we  have  already  said  with  regard  to  the  homes 
and  living  of  the  Virginians  and  Marylanders  is  em- 
phasized by  the  words  of  Mr.  Thomas  Nelson  Page : 
**  Virginia  was  settled  with  a  strong  English  feeling  in- 
grained in  her,  with  English  customs  and  habits  of  life, 
with  English  ideas,  modified  only  to  suit  the  conditions  of 
life  here.  Among  the  chief  factors  which  influenced  Vir- 
ginia life,  and  moulded  it  in  its  peculiar  form,  were  this 
English  feeling  (which  was  almost  strong  enough  to  call  a 
race  feeling)  ;  the  aristocratic  tendency  ;  the  happy  combi- 
nation of  soil,  climate  and  agricultural  product  (tobacco), 
which  made  them  an  agricultural  people,  and  enabled  them 
to  support  a  generous  style  of  living  as  landed  gentry  ;  the 
Church  with  its  strong  organization ;  and  the  institution  of 
slavery." 

So  far,  we  have  dealt  with  Virginia  and  Maryland  ex- 
clusively, but  in  the  meantime  the  proprietary  government 
of  South  Carolina  had  been  established,  and  along  the 
Ashley  River  much  the  same  conditions  prevailed.  All 
the  early  explorers  of  the  southern  coast  refer  in  enthusias- 
tic terms  to  the  magnificent  forests  of  that  region.  They 
speak  of  the  quality  and  variety  of  the  splendid  timber — 
oak,  ash,  cypress,  walnut,  bay,  maple,  poplar,  cedar,  hick- 
ory, birch,  elm,  laurel  and  holly. 

The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  who  was  so  active  in  planting 
the  new  colony,  regarded  timber  as  an  important  source  of 
profit.  In  his  instructions  for  Mr.  Andrew  Percevall,  dated 
from  Exeter  House,  May  23,  1674,  we  read :  "You  are 
to  send  me  word  what  trees  fit  for  masts  and  to  what  big- 
ness  and   length  you  have  any  there,  and  at  what  distance 

73 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

from  water  carriage,  and  to  send  me  samples  of  the  timber 
of  your  mast  trees,  and  of  any  dyeing  drugs  or  any  sort  of 
timber  of  woods  that  is  finely  grained  or  scented  that  you 
think  may  be  fit  for  cabinets  and  such  other  fine  works." 

In  his  True  Relation  of  a  Voyage  (1663),  William 
Hilton  reports:  "The  lands  are  laden  with  oaks,  walnut 
and  bays,  except  facing  on  the  sea,  it  is  most  pines  tall  and 
good." 

The  household  goods  carried  by  the  first  settlers  were 
the  same  as  had  been  the  case  in  Virginia,  as  appears  from 
"An  account  of  the  costs  of  the  cloaths  bought  for  the 
present  expedition  to  Carolina,  1669."      It  includes: 

£  s.  d. 
100  beds,  rugs  and  pillows  at  8s  6d  .  42-10-0 
I   leather  bed  ....  i-io-o 

30  hamocks  at  2 2d     .  .  .  .  2—14-0 

In  1 67 1  Shaftesbury  sent  a  small  chest  with  three  locks 
to  Sir  John  Yeamans  on  the  Ashley  River,  and  many  other 
instances  of  his  care  are  to  be  found. 

North  Carolina  differed  from  her  sister  State  where  so 
many  Puritans,  Huguenots  and  Quakers  settled.  Almost 
exclusively  economic  motives  led  various  discontented  men 
to  leave  Virginia  and  make  new  homes  for  themselves  in 
the  woods  of  North  Carolina.  They  were  political  rather 
than  religious  refugees.  After  the  suppression  of  Bacon's 
rebellion  in  1676,  that  region  became  the  "Common  sub- 
terfuge and  lurking-place"  of  those  "Rogues,  runaways  and 
rebels"  who  objected  to  the  severe  rule  of  Sir  William 
Berkeley  in  Virginia.  For  a  long  time  that  settlement 
was  backward  and  neglected.  The  attention  of  the  people 
at  home  was  directed  almost  exclusively  to  the  plantations 
on  the  Ashley  River.      Under  such  circumstances  the  houses 

74 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

and  household  goods  were  rough  and  primitive.  For  fifty 
years  there  were  no  towns.  Bath  was  the  first  to  be  incor- 
porated (1704),  and  in  1709  it  had  only  "about  twelve 
houses." 

The  Ashley  River  settlement  soon  rivaled  V^irginia  and 
Maryland  in  wealth  and  prosperity,  and  the  homes  ot  the 
planters  offered  equal  evidence  of  comfort  and  luxury. 
The  inventory  of  Richard  Phillips  (1695)  among  other 
things  mentions  **  Three  standing  bedsteads,  flock  bed  bol- 
ster and  cradle  bed,  four  tables,  two  joint-stools,  twelve 
Turkey-work  chairs."  The  furniture  came  direct  from 
England  and  the  conditions  of  trade  were  very  much  the 
same  as  in  Virginia. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FORE^FATHERS 


o 

> 

h 

g 

h 


2q 


p 

b 
;zi 

a: 

CO 


^^'''^::s::::s::^::s:::::^:::s::^^ 


THE    FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRJTICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGlS 


ILLUSTRATED 


\ir^ 


3      s^<3 


PARI    II 


OI> 


GARDEN  CiTY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,    1 901,    BY 
DOUBLEDAY,    PAGE   &   CO. 


CONTENTS 


The  Early  Days  of  the  Settlement  of  Phila- 
delphia     ......        79-81 

Its  prosperity  ;  economic  and  social  conditions;    mode  of  liv- 
ing, etc.,  etc. 

William   Penn  :    His  House  and  Furniture        82—86 
The  Estates  of  : 

John  Simcock,  86;    William  Lewis,  87;   John  Moore,  88 j 
John  Jones,  88. 

Francis  Daniel  Pastorius,  Founder  of  German- 
town  .......     89 

His  estate,  90. 

Baron  Stiegel's  House  and  Furnishings       .  .     90 

The  Estate  of  Governor   Patrick  Gordon         91-93 
James  Logan's  House,  "  Stenton,"  and  its  Fur- 
nishings    .......      94 

Description  of  Furniture  Belonging  to  Various 

Persons      ......         94-96 

Letter  from   Franklin  to  his  Wife  Regarding 

Household  Furniture        .  .  .        97—99 

Advertisements  of   the    Period,   1729,  Showing 

"Latest  Fashions"  in  Furniture     .  .    100 

The  Clockmakers  of  Philadelphia     .  .  .102 

The  Bed       ........    103 

Decorative  effects  of  hangings   and   furniture;  extract   from 

Miss  Sarah   Kve's  journal    regarding   the   same;    letter    from 

Mrs.  Franklin    to  her  husband  describing  furnishings  oi  her 
house,  104. 


CONTENTS 


Furniture,  Conditions,  Etc., 

In  South  Carolina,  Virginia  and  Maryland  during  Revolution- 
ary days,  108  ;   prosperity  of  the  planters  of  the  period,  109. 

The  Inventories  and  Estates  of  Various  Per- 
sons ....... 

Famous  Houses  of  the  First  Half  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century         .... 

Glimpses  into  the  Incerior  of  Mansions  of  the 
Period        .  .  .  .  .  .116— 

Inventory  of  Table  Goods  and  Chattels  of 
Joseph  Wragg,  Esc^  ..... 

Amusements  of  the  Planters       .... 

The  card  table  and  its  furnishings,  127;   shuffle-board;  back- 
gammon-tables; checker-boards,  etc.,  etc.,  128. 

Various  Tables    ....... 

Their  values,  129;   tea-table  furnishings,  132-134. 

China  ......  .     130— 

Silverware,  Plate,  and  Table  Furnishings    132— 
Chairs  of  the  Period  ....     134— 

Their  prices,  shapes,  materials,  etc.,  etc. 

The  Table  .......     139— 

The  Carpet  ...... 

The  Cupboard      ...... 

The  Chest  of  Drawers         .... 

The  Clock  ....... 

Pictures  and  Maps       ..... 

Mahogany   ... 
General  Remarks  Regarding  Furniture  of  the 
Period       ...... 


FuRNiruRE  IN  Louisiana 


151- 


10 

15 

20 

25 
26 

29 

31 
34 
39 

40 
44 

45 
46 

46 

47 
48 

49 

52 


T:x  .1  K^ 7 


^mi  List  of  Illustrations 


WITH      CRITICAL      NOTES      ON      MANY     OF 
THE        PLATES        BY       RUSSELL       STURGIS 


ALL    THE    NOTES    rullNISHED    BY     M*.     iTUECIt 
AKE    FOLLOWED    BY     Hit    INITIALS,     R.    I. 


Ill 


79 


Frontispiece         .....        facing 

Washington*!  bed-room  at  Mount  Vernon,  with  all  the  original  furnitarr. 

Chest  WITH  Bands  of  Stamped  Iron  Work     facing 

Chest  with  straps  of  iron  for  strength  and  for  ornament.  Such  pieces  were  made  in 
Spain  and  Portugal  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century,  and  if  this  is  of  the  eighteenth 
century  it  it  a  survival,  the  old  pattern  being  kept  in  mind  or  reproduced  in  a  provincial 
region  or  in  a  foreign  country.  The  iron  work  is  all  in  thin  sheet  metal  ( originally 
tinned )  beaten  up  from  below  and  chased  on  the  surface  and  secured  to  the  planks  by 
clenched  nails  whose  heads  form  a  part  of  the  design.  The  two  large  bolt-heads  near  the 
front  edge  of  the  top  in  the  middle  show  where  the  striking-plate  or  bolder  of  the  lock  is 
secured;  the  lock  itself,  bein;  safely  inside  of  the  chest  and  only  to  be  got  at  by  cutting 
the  wovxl  away,  has  been  thought  not  to  need  special  fastenings.  The  handles,  large  and 
heavy  and  meant  for  the  grajp  of  two  hands  upon  each  handle,  are  an  important  part  of 
the  decoration.  The  charm  of  the  piece  i>,  however,  in  the  very  spirited  semi-oriental 
design  of  the  iron  straps.      R.  S. 

Philadelphia  in  1700.    From  a  Very  Old  Paint- 
ing IN  THE  Philadelphia  Library  .  .     81 

William  Penn's  Desk,  and  an  Historical  Chair 

facing     82 

Desk  with  hinged  cover  or  flap  to  form  writing  table,  with  moulding  to  retain  it  in  pbce, 
the  two  pieces  evidently  intended  for  one  another;  the  brasies  apparently  original.  This 
excellent  specimen  of  simple  and  utilitarian  design  would  seem  to  be  of  the  earliest  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  for  the  overlapping  firont  of  the  drawer;  moreover  a  piece 
•o  devoid  of  oriument  must  needs  be  hard  to  date.  Long  established  residents  of  Barn- 
stable, Dedham  and  C^insy,  as  well  as  the  old  families  of  Pennsylvania,  had  such  pieces  as 
thii  in  common  use  as  late  as  1850;  and  the  traditions  of  origin  for  such  pieces  are  almost 
valueless.  Such  a  piece  as  this  with  its  braises  and  all  complete  might  have  been  made 
anywhere  from  17^0  to  1820— according  to  the  opportunities  possessed  by  the  local 
joiner  of  seeing  imported  furniture. 

Windsor  armchair  with  revolving  seat  and  attached  reiding-desk.  The  pattern  »  of 
about  1 770  though  the  carved  arms  suggest  a  somewhat  earlier  date.  It  was  used  by 
Thomas  Jefferson  while  writing  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  See  what  is  said  of 
similar  chairs  in  this  division  of  the  woik. 

The  student  should  observe  the  difference  betwe-n  the  writing-desk  on  the  r'ght  arm  of  a 
chair,  suggesting  pencil  notes  made  hastily,  and  the  desk  mounted  on  the  Irtta-m,  which 
is  nearly  always  made  to  swing  in  a  pivot  and  may  be  drawn  to  any  position  in  front  of  the 
person  using  it.      R.  S. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGS 

Two  Chairs  of  William  Penn's  .  .  .  '85 

One  has  a  cane  back  and  scat  with  arms  and  turtied  rails  and  legs  with  fluted  feet  ;  the 
other  is  a  good  example  of  the  chair  common  in  the  iirst  years  of  the  century  under  the 
Dutch  influence,  with  slightly  cabriole  legs  and  hoof  feet. 

William  Penn's  Secretary  .  .         facing      83 

From  Pennsbury  Mansion.  Owned  by  the  Philadelphia  Library  Co.  (The  top  moulding 
has  been  restored.) 

Two  Early  Eighteenth  Century  Chairs   .  .     87 

Armchair  (the  left-hand  one)  the  close  of  seventeenth  or  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  High- backed  chairs  and  armchairs  which  are  distinguished  by  horizontal  slats 
which  form  the  back,  seem  to  have  been  commonly  described  as  "three-back"  chairs^ 
"five-back"  chairs,  etc.,  according  to  the  number  of  these  pieces.  Armchair  (the 
right-hand  one)  of  about  I  700,  but  remodelled  at  a  subsequent  time,  probably  to  secure  a 
lower  seat  than  was  thought  practicable  or  reasonable  at  the  original  date.      R.  S. 

Spinet  or  Clavichord  .  .  .        facing     90 

Spinet  or  clavichord  ;  the  case  supported  upon  two  frames  of  two  legs  each,  the  straining- 
pieces  connected  by  a  longitudinally  fitted  board  adjusted  into  uprights.  This  admirable 
piece  illustrates  well  the  simple  designing  of  a  time  when,  partly  from  the  influence  of 
Puritanism  and  partly  from  the  accepted  doctrine  that  ornament  should  be  architectural 
and  formal,  the  older  and  more  richly  adorned  designs  have  been  abandoned.  The  turned 
legs  would  suggest  a  date  as  late  as  1740,  but  an  earlier  epoch  is  suggested  by  the  delicate 
chamfers  of  the  horizontal  straining-pieces,  and  especially  by  the  stopped  chamfering  of 
their  upper  edges.      R.  S. 

Charleston    Room   with    Eighteenth    Century 
Bed        ......        facing 

In  the  house  of  Mrs.  Andrew  Simonds. 


91 


A  Table       ........     94 

Table  of  make  so  simple  that  there  are  no  characteristics  which  could  determine  the  date 
except  the  brasses,  which,  if  the  original  ones,  as  ]s  stated  and  as  is  probable,  would,  by 
the  character  of  the  pierced  escutcheons,  fix  the  date  at  about  1760.      R.  S. 

A  Chair  and  Communion  Table  .  .  -97 

A  chair  and  communion  table  belonging  to  the  early  part  of  the  century.  They  are 
from  Donegal,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  and  date  from  1722.  Both  pieces  are  common  types 
in  use  in  England  and  the  colonies  during  the  seventeenth  and  early  eighteenth  cen- 
turies, and  were  to  be  found  in  any  ordinary  house  ;  there  is  nothing  distinctively  ec- 
clesiastical about  them.     The  silver  communion  cups  are  also  plain  and  severe. 

Two  Effective  Eighteenth  Century  Chairs       .     99 

Armchair  with  turned  legs,  straining-pieces  and  balusters,  date  undetermined,  as  such 
simple  designs  were  constantly  followed  by  workmen  in  the  small  towns;  perhaps  1780. 
The  bars  turned  into  egg-shaped  units  set  end  to  end  are  probably  the  feeble  eflx)rts  of 
workmen  who  could  not  produce  the  spirals.  They  have  an  obvious  connection  with  the 
beaded  astragal  of  the  architects,  and  this  fact  may  have  helped  to  establish  the  fashion. 
Chair,  bandy-legged  and  with  claw  feet  delicately  carved  in  the  taste  of  Chippendale's 
simpler  work  and  probably  from  his  workshop  about  1750.      R.  S. 

John  Dickinson's  Reading-desk;  and  Two  Early 

Chairs  .....        facing    igo 

Owned  by  the  Philadelphia  Library  Co. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


rAGB 


Two  Eighteenth  Century  Chairs       .  .  .    loi 

Chair,  about  1 740  with  ruth  teat.  The  timple  (ksigni  of  the  time  do  not  neeo  carv- 
ing, iolaying  or  delicate  workmanship  to  make  them  attractive.  If  to-day  a  skilful 
workman  would  enlarge  the  seat  and  modify  the  curvature  of  the  back  until,  by  careful 
experiment  he  should  reach  the  proper  form  of  a  dining-room  chair,  nothiiig  but  good 
workmanship  and  tinUh  and  the  retention  of  the  original  curves  would  be  necessary. 
Armchair  with  bandy-legs  and  claw  feet,  about  1780.  The  back  was  not  originally  up- 
bohtcred.     The  upholstered  aeat  has  Icat  iu  original  covering.     R.  S. 

Chair  and  Card  Table        .  .  .  .  .    io8 

The  piece*  belonged  to  Hon.  Jasper  Yeates,  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Pennsylvania  from  179 1-18 17.  Both  pieces  are  of  walnut.  The  chair  is  Dutch  in 
character,  squat  in  appearance  and  with  cabriole  legs  with  claw  and  hall  feet,  and  shell 
ornaments.  The  folding  table  has  also  cabriole  legs  with  eagle  claw  and  ball  feet.  The 
two  pieces  are  now  owned  by  Dr.  John  H.  Brinton  of  Philadelphia,  the  great-grand- 
son of  Jasper  Yeates. 

Library  Chair  of  Benjamin  Franklin        facing    ioi 

A  chair  which  may  be  used  as  a  step-Udder  by  turning  up  the  seat.  Formerly  belonging 
to  Benjamin  Franklin,  it  is  now  used  as  chair  for  the  president  oi  the  American 
Philosophical  Society. 

Table  and  Two  Chairs  .  .  .      facing    112 

The  chairs  and  table  belonged  originally  to  Mr.  Philip  Tabb  of  Toddsbury,  the  old 
Tabb  homestead  on  North  River,  Gloucester  Co.,  Va.,  and  were  given  by  Dr.  John 
Prosser  Tabb  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Penin. 

Lord  Dunmore's  Chair         .  .  .  .  •    113 

This  chair  of  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  preserved  in  Baltimore,  Md., 
in  the  house  of  the  Colonial  Dames.  It  belonged  to  the  last  Colonial  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, Lord  Dunmore. 

Shaving-glass  and  Chest  of  Drawers  facing     113 

Shaving. glass  with  drawers.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Interesting  because 
covered  with  ornament  in  lacquer,  stated  to  be  Chinese.  Such  pieces  were  imported 
from  China  and  also  from  Japan  through  the  Dutch  settlement  at  Kago&ima.  Also 
in  Holland  during  the  seventeenth  century  and  as  late  as  1750  the  lacquer  decora- 
tion of  the  Japanese  was  imitated  in  a  way  not  deceptive  but  capable  uf  considerable  ef- 
fect. The  pieces  lacquered  in  Japan  were  evidently  made  by  Europeans  and  it  is 
thought  that  many  of  them  were  sent  out  from  Holland,  complete  except  for  the  surface 
adornment  and  brought  back  when  completed.      R.  S. 

Mahogany  Card  Table  AND  Two  Chairs    facing    ii8 

These  chairs  belonged  to  Colonel  John  Mayo  of  Belleville,  inherited  through  John  de 
Hart,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Continental  Congress  (1774-5-6),  and  attorney- 
general  of  New  Jersey.      The  table  is  about  I  50  years  old. 

Desk,  Dressing-Table  and  Two  Chairs        .  .119 

These  fiaur  pieces  are  from  Lafayette's  Room,  Mount  Vernon. 

Desk  and  Chair  .....        facing    119 

Desk  or  secretary  with  drawers  ;  the  step  in  development  next  after  the  old  chest  or 
drawers  o(  which  few  examples  remain.  Such  pieces  were  made  of  applewood  or  birch 
stained  red  when  mahogany  was  considered  too  costly,  but  there  exist  solid  mahogany  and 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACE 

also  mahogany  veneered  pieces  very  similar  in  design  and  their  style  varies  little  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  this  instance  the  drop-handles  probably 
and  the  casters  certainly  are  modern.  Corner  chair  or  roundabout  chair  of  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.      R.  S. 

Four  Interesting  Chairs     .  .  .  .  -123 

These  chairs  are  in  the  River  Room,  Mount  Vernon.  The  one  next  to  the  extreme 
right  belonged  to  Benjamin  P'ranklin. 

Wine-Cooler  AND  Butler's  Tray  .        facing    126 

Wine-cooler  and  butler's  tray  belonging  to  Mr.  Thomas  Boiling,  Richmond,  Va., 
originally  owned  by  his  great-grandfather,  Thomas  Boiling  of  Cobbs.  On  the  Boiling 
silver  tray  stands  a  Boiling  cream  jug.  The  copper  urn  is  a  Boiling  piece,  and  the 
wine-cooler  is  a  piece  of  Randolph  silver  with  the  coat-of-arms  on  one  side  and  the  crest 
on  the  other.     The  bottle  has  on  its  side :   "  Boiling  Cobbs,  1772." 

Windsor  Armchair       .  .  .  .  .  .129 

Windsor  armchair  with  fan-shaped  back  and  supporting  braces  for  the  back.  The 
pattern  was  introduced  in  America  as  early  as  1770,  but  was  followed  for  many  years 
without  serious  change. 

Three  Mahogany  Pieces       .  .  .        facing    127 

Eighteenth  century  spoon-case,  knife-box  and  tea  caddy. 

Chair  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -131 

Windsor  armchair  of  an  early  pttern;  fan-shaped  arrangement  of  the  balusters.  This 
piece  is  much  more  elaborate  in  the  pattern  of  its  turning  than  most  Windsor  chairs,  and 
has  also  carved  arms,  which  are  very  unusual.  On  these  accounts  it  should  be  dated 
about  1750.     R.  S. 

A  Chair  Owned  by  William  Penn       .  .  -135 

Armchair  with  cane  seat  and  back  ;  a  delicately  finished  piece  of  simple  design.  The 
student  should  notice  the  excellent  turning  of  the  spirals;  those  of  the  back  are 
singularly  bold,  the  hollow  of  the  spiral  very  deep  and  it  is  possible  that  these  are  of  a 
different  date  from  the  much  less  effective  spirals  of  the  uprights  and  straining-pieces  in 
front. 

Eighteenth  Century  Chair  .  .       facing    137 

Chair  probably  about  1760  by  Thomas  Chippendale  or  some  close  imitation  of  his.  The 
carving  is  very  delicate.  Indeed  the  marked  peculiarity  of  this  piece  is  the  great  sim- 
plicity of  the  main  lines,  as  of  the  frame,  and  the  extreme  delicacy  and  richness  of  the 
carving,  which  is  rather  closely  studied  from  natural  plant-form.     R.  S. 

Bedstead  with  Tester  Valance  .  facing    140 

Bedstead  in  the  general  style  of  that  shown  in  plate  facing  page  142,  but  with  the  carving 
much  less  elaborate.  The  curtains  are  not  in  place,  but  a  tester  valance,  or  lambrequin 
replaces  them,  probably  to  avoid  the  naked  look  of  the  unused  wooden  framework.    R.  S. 

Bedstead       ......        facing    141 

\  Bedstead  with  richly  carved  high  posts  and  bars  for  light  curtains  or  mosquito  nets.     This 

is  one  of  several  pieces  in  this  collection  which  are  enriched  by  very  elaborate  carving  of 
a  kind  which,  originating  near  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  continued  to  be  used 
as  late  as  iS-^o  by  those  furniture  makers  who  aimed  at  solidity  and  richness  of  effect. 
Thus  while  Chippendale,  Sheraton  and  Heppelwhite  were  following  the  more  original 
styles  identified  with  their  names,  other  workmen  seem  to  have  gone  back,  continually, 
to  such  elaborate  work  as  is  shown  by  this  plate,  enjoying  as  their  customers  must  have 
done,  the  effect  of  the  carving  in  very  dark  and  heavy  wood.  Compare  plate  ^cing 
page  140  with  this.     R.  S. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


DrESSING-TaBLE  ....  FACING     1 44 

Thi*  nubofany  drening-table  U  owned  by  Mn.  Andrew  Simondi,  Cbarietton,  S.  C. 

Mahogany  Chair  and  Dressing-Case  .  •    ^45 

Old  mahogany  chair  and  dretsing  case  (very  small)  imported  by  Randolph  of  Curlti 
in  1721.   Owned  by  Mrs.  J.  Adair  Pleatantt,  Richmond,  Va.    (Original  bra«  handlci. ) 

Two  Eighteenth  Century  Clocks        .        facing    145 

The  tall  clock  at  used  in  France  and  elsewhere  on  the  continent  was  made  the  medium 
of  the  most  elaborate  decoration;  but  English  and  of  courae  American  clock  cases  were 
usually  very  simple  in  design  as  in  the  present  cases. 

Tall  clocks,  the  cases  of  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Clocks  in  high 
cases  were  the  natural  successors  of  those  brass  clocks  ( made  of  metal  without  as  well  as 
within)  which  were  in  use  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Those  clocks  were  set  high  on 
the  wall,  supported  on  a  shelf  or  bracket  through  holes  in  which  the  weights  ran  down 
perhaps  nearly  to  the  floor.  They  had  short  pcndulunts  or  were  driven  by  springs  in 
much  the  same  fashion  as  a  watch.  The  introduction  of  the  long  pendulum  about  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  one  cause  of  the  introduction  of  the  tall  case, 
but  the  desire  to  thut  all  the  works  up  from  the  dust  must  have  helped  in  the  movement. 
R.  S. 

Two   Chairs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .148 

Chair  and  armchair ;  very  delicately  carved  in  mahogany  ;  date  about  1 760  The  deli- 
cacy of  the  carving  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  these  were  the  work  of  Thomas  Chip- 
pendale and  from  his  London  workshop,  the  date  about  1 7  50.  The  designs  are  somewhat 
less  intelligently  made,  the  main  lines  less  significant  than  in  Chippendale's  best  work  ;  but 
these  are  very  valuable  pieces,  and  for  effectiveness  of  simple  carving  hard  to  equal.     R.  S. 

Eighteenth  Century  Bookcase  .  .         -150 

Bookcase  ;  later  year*  of  eighteenth  century.  The  piece  is  interesting  because  of  the 
assertion  in  the  design  as  well  as  in  the  nuke  that  it  is  a  light  piece  for  a  dwelling-house. 
It  is  intended  to  be  movable  ;  and  accordingly  there  are  handles  to  carry  the  upper  book- 
case proper,  and  also  the  lower  part  with  its  drawers  and  cupboard.  The  smooth  out- 
side without  projecting  members,  with  the  mouldings  expressing  a  structure  of  thin 
uprights  and  horizontals  ;  with  the  curved  fronts  of  the  lower  part  insisting  still  farther 
upon  a  delicate  box-like  structure  with  the  reliance  upon  a  beautiful  wood  for  the  effec- 
tiveness of  the  piece,  this  u  a  most  admirably  designed  domestic  bookcase.  There  is  only 
the  pattern  made  by  the  sash  bars  which  is  not  in  perfectly  good  taste.     R.  S. 

Some  Old  New  Orleans  Pieces  .  .  facing    150 

Ladies'  working-table,  liquor  set  and  Russian  Samovar.  The  ladies'  work-table  is  ex- 
ceedingly  curious.  Of  the  Louis  XIV  period,  it  is  made  of  ebony,  veneered  with  tortoise- 
shell  and  inbid  with  brass  The  drawers  have  secret  bottoms.  The  liquor  set,  which 
is  very  rare,  is  an  ebony  case  inlaid  with  nacre  and  bronze.  The  bottles  and  glasses  are 
crystal  with  inlaid  gold.  A  present  to  Marigny  by  Governor  V'iliere.  The  two 
chandeliers  of  sohd  silver,  in  the  Louis  XIV  style,  were  presents  from  Tulendano  to 
Marigny. 

The  ancient  Russian  bronze  Samovar  has  a  tube  in  the  cover,  through  which  a  red- 
hot  iron  is  placed  to  keep  the  beverage  warm. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  II 


THE  FURNITURE    OF 
OUR    rOREFATHERS 

Part  II:  Later  Southern 

OAK,  WALNUT  AND  EARLY  MAHOGANY 


HE  early  days  of  the  settlement  of  Philadel- 
phia were  uniformly  prosperous.  There 
Twere  no  Indian  massacres,  nor  famines,  nor 
II  domestic  strife  to  hinder  progress  as  in  the 
infancy  of  Virginia.  Respectable  working- 
men  found  a  hearty  welcome,  and,  when 
they  could  not  pay  their  own  way,  they  could  work  under 
indentures  and  at  the  end  of  their  time  start  on  their  own 
account  with  good  prospects. 

Men  of  wealth  accompanied  and  followed  Penn  to  his 
haven  of  quietude  in  the  woods  of  the  west,  and  many  of  the 
small  yeomen  class  of  English  who  had  a  little  money  of 
their  own,  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  improve  their  condition 
and  worship  as  they  pleased  without  molestation. 

The  way  was  prepared  in  a  measure  for  the  new  settlers 
by  the  Swedes  who  were  already  established  in  the  region. 

79 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  condition  of  the  latter  is  described  by  T.  Paskel,  who 
in  1683  writes : 

"  There  are  some  Swedes  and  Finns  who  have  lived 
here  forty  years,  and  live  an  easy  life  through  the  abun- 
dance of  commodities,  but  their  clothes  were  very  mean 
before  the  coming  of  the  English,  from  whom  they  have 
bought  good  ones,  and  they  begin  to  show  themselves  a  lit- 
tle proud.  They  are  an  industrious  people.  They  employ 
in  their  building  little  or  no  iron.  They  will  build  for 
you  a  house  without  any  implement  than  an  axe.  With 
the  same  implement  they  will  cut  down  a  tree,  and  have 
it  in  pieces  in  less  time  than  two  other  men  would  spend 
in  sawing  it,  and  with  this  implement  and  some  wooden 
wedges  they  split  and  make  boards  of  it,  or  anything  else 
they  please  with  much  skill.  The  most  of  them  speak 
English,  Swedish,  Finnish  and  Dutch  .  .  .  The  woods  are 
full  of  oaks,  very  high  and  straight.  Many  are  about  two 
feet  in  diameter  and  some  even  more,  and  a  Swede  will 
cut  down  for  you  a  dozen  of  the  largest  in  a  day.  We 
have  here  beautiful  poplars,  beeches,  ash,  linden,  fir,  goose- 
berry, sassafras,  chestnut,  hazelnut,  mulberry  and  walnut 
trees,  but  few  cedars  and  pines." 

There  is  very  little  trace  of  distinctive  Swedish  furniture, 
as  might  be  expected  from  the  above  contemporary  account 
of  Queen  Christina's  subjects.  There  is,  however,  a  curious 
"Swedish"  chest  in  the  Memorial  Hall,  Philadelphia, 
here  reproduced.  The  wood  is  quite  plain  and  destitute  of 
carving,  and  the  only  ornamentation  consists  of  bands  of 
tinned  iron  work,  stamped  and  perforated  in  a  conventional 
floral  pattern — as  was  the  custom  in  Spanish  and  Portu- 
guese work.    (See  Mr.  Sturgis's  note  on  this  picture.) 

At  Philadelphia  the  first  arrivals  lived   in  caves  along 

80 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  river  banks  until  they  could  put  up  wooden  houses. 
In  his  Annals  of  Philadelphia^  Watson  gives  an  instance  of 
a  woman  named  Elizabeth  Hard  who  came  to  Philadel- 
phia with  Penn  and  joined  her  sister  **  in  a  cave  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,"  and  relates  that  one  of  her  descendants 
showed  him  a  napkin  made  from  flax  spun  in  that  cave  by 
Elizabeth  Hard  and  woven  by  the  Germans  in  German- 
town,  and  "a  very  pretty  chair^  low  and  small,  which  had 
been  a  sitting  chair  in  that  cave." 

Persecution  and  want  in  the  Old  World  started  an  ex- 
odus of  men  and  women  to  the  wilderness  regardless  of 
creature  comforts  left  behind,  but  some  of  the  wealthier 
emigrants  did  not  start  from  England  until  careful, 
quaintly  specified  preparations  had  been  made  for  their  re- 
ception by  relatives  and  friends  already  in  the  colony. 

A  considerable  amount  of  household  goods  was  taken 
out  by  such  settlers  in  Penn's  Woods,  and  the  houses  rapidly 
improved  in  construction  and  convenience.  Brick  was  used 
in  building  within  two  years. 


e 


A--,-.     .^^^ 


*4!vl4 


_^^4J^j-sL«  > 


PHILADELPHIA    IN     I72O 
From  a  very  old  painting  in  the  Philadelphia  Library. 


Thus  Philadelphia  became  a  flourishing  town  in  an 
astonishingly  short  space  of  time.  Six  hundred  houses, 
many  of  them  substantial  edifices  built  of  home-made  brick 
after   English   models,  sprang   up  within   three  years,  and 


Si 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

within  fifteen  years  of  its  settlement,  the  district  contained 
many  prosperous  planters  and  merchants. 

Penn  took  the  greatest  interest  in  preparing  his  home 
in  the  New  World.  His  letters  to  James  Harrison,  his 
chief  steward,  or  agent,  from  1681  to  1687,  are  full  of  in- 
structions regarding  furniture. 

In  1685  he  writes  that  "a  Dutchman,  joiner  and  car- 
penter," is  coming  "  that  is  to  work  one  hundred  and  fifty 
days,  and  pay  me  ^^5  or  ^7  country  money,  for  £j  sterling 
lent  him.  Let  him  wainscot  and  make  tables  and  stands : 
but  chiefly  help  on  the  outhouses,  because  we  shall  bring 
much  furniture  y  A  month  later:  "  Get  some  wooden  chairs 
of  walnut  with  long  backs,  and  two  or  three  eating  tables  for 
twelve,  eight  and  five  persons,  with  falling  leaves  to  them." 

The  tract  of  Pennsbury,  in  Bucks  County,  bought  from 
an  Indian  chief  and  originally  called  Sepessin,  contained,  in 
1684,  about  3431  acres. 

The  substantial  brick  house,  sixty  feet  front,  forty  feet 
deep  and  two  stories  and  a  half  high,  was  embellished  with 
materials  imported  from  England  and  was  built  in  1682-3. 
Little  wonder  that  the  colonists  referred  to  it  as  the 
palace!  Several  rooms  opened  into  the  large  hall  for 
meetings  with  the  Council,  entertainments,  and  pow-wows 
with  the  Indians.  The  kitchen,  like  the  Southern  kitchens, 
was  in  an  outer  building.  The  stable  had  room  for  twelve 
horses.  The  lawn,  which  was  terraced  to  the  river,  and 
the  grounds  and  gardens,  were  very  beautiful.  Indeed, 
most  of  the  wealthy  colonists  aimed  to  duplicate  in  this  New 
World  the  fine  estates  they  had  left  in  England.  Trees, 
shrubs,  hardy  herbaceous  plants,  seeds,  sun-dials  and  garden 
tools  they  imported  constantly.  Every  traveller  of  the 
period  (including  Peter  Kalm,  the  Swedish  botanist)  men- 

83 


WILLIAM  PENN'S  SECRETARY 

From  Pennsbury  Mansion',  nonv  in  the  Philadelphia  Public  Library.      {T'he  top  moulding  hat  been  restored.') 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

tions  the  beautiful  gardens  around  the  homes  in  and  near 
Philadelphia.  Penn  had  a  coach,  a  calash,  and  a  sedan- 
chair,  but  he  preferred  travelling  to  the  city  in  his  barge. 

But  let  us  see  of  what  Penn's  furniture  consisted.  The 
great  hall  contained  one  long  table  and  two  forms,  six 
chairs,  five  mazarins  (i.  e.,  mazers,  or  bowls),  two  cisterns, 
and  "  sundries  others,"  and  many  pewter  dishes.  The 
little  hall  was  furnished  with  six  leather  chairs  and  five 
maps.  In  the  "best  parlour"  were  two  tables,  one  couch, 
two  great  cane  chairs  and  four  small  cane  chairs,  and  a 
number  of  cushions,  four  of  which  were  of  satin  and  three 
of  green  plush.  The  other  parlour  was  furnished  with 
two  tables,  six  chairs,  one  great  leather  chair,  one  clock, 
and  "  a  pair  of  brasses."  Going  upstairs,  we  find  that  the 
"  best  chamber  "  contains  a  bed  and  bedding,  "  a  suit  of  satin 
curtains,"  and  "  sundry  tables,  stands  and  cane  chairs." 
The  next  chamber  has  in  it  a  bed  and  beddmg,  six  cane 
chairs  and  "a  suit  of  camblet  curtains."  Next  to  this  is 
another  bedroom,  with  one  wrought  bed  and  bedding 
and  six  wooden  chairs.  The  nursery  contains  "one  pallet 
bed,  two  chairs  of  Master  John,  and  sundries ;  "  and  in 
the  next  chamber  we  find  a  bed  and  bedding,  "  one  suit 
of  striped   linen  curtains,  four  rush-bottomed  chairs,  etc." 

The  garret  holds  "  four  bedsteads,  two  beds,  three  side- 
saddles— one  of  them  my  mother's — two  pillions."  In 
the  closet  and  best  chamber  there  are  "  bed  and  bedding, 
two  silk  blankets  and  white  curtains,  also  two  damask  cur- 
tains for  windows,  six  cane  chairs,  one  hanging  press." 
In  the  kitchen  there  is  mention  of  "a  grate  iron,  one  pair 
of  racks,  three  spits,  and  one  pair  of  great  dogs."  There 
was  much  plate  in  the  house.  Penn  lived  here  only  one 
year,    1 700-1.       His  secretary,  now  in  the  Philadelphia 

•s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Library  Co.'s  rooms,  is  made  of  English  oak.  This  was 
originally  in  the  Pennsbury  house. 

William  Penn's  clock  is  also  shown  in  the  Philadel- 
phia Library.  Its  case  is  oak  inlaid,  and  a  piece  of  bull's- 
eye  glass  is  inserted  in  front  of  the  pendulum.  The  clock 
was  an  importation  ;  the  spiral  columns  at  the  sides  of 
the  dial  were  a  favourite  design  for    the    long-case  clocks. 

"Towards  the  end  of  Charles  IPs  reign,"  we  learn 
from  F.  J.  Britten's  Old  Clocks  and  Watches  (London, 
1899),  "the  brass  chamber  clock  with  a  wooden  hood 
developed  into  the  long-case  eight-day  variety,  now  famil- 
iarly termed  *  grandfather,'  and  veritable  specimens  of  that 
period,  though  rare,  are  occasionally  met  with.  In  the 
earliest  the  escapement  was  governed  by  either  the  two- 
armed  balance  with  weights,  or  by  a  *bob'  pendulum; 
the  long,  or  *  royal '  pendulum  came  into  general  use  about 
1680.  Some  of  these  primitive  grandfathers  were  exceed- 
ingly narrow  in  the  waist,  only  just  sufficient  width  being 
allowed  for  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  weights.  A  curious 
addition  to  these  cases  is  sometimes  seen  in  the  form  of 
wings  or  projections  on  each  side  of  the  waist,  to  permit 
the  swing  of  a  *■  royal '  pendulum.  Sheraton  seems  to  have 
suggested  a  revival  of  these  wings." 

There  is  a  clock  in  the  Philadelphia  Public  Library 
which  belonged  to  William  Hudson,  Mayor  of  Phila- 
delphia in  1725-26.  His  father  purchased  it  at  a  sale  in 
London,  where  the  auctioneer  stated  that  the  time-piece 
had  once  belonged  to  Oliver  Cromwell. 

The  chair  from  Pennsbury,  reproduced  on  page  135, 
has  a  cane  back  and  seat,  with  turned  supports  and  rails. 

In  Independence  Hall  are  two  other  chairs  of  walnut 
that  belonged  to  William  Penn.      One  has  a  cane  back  and 

84 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


TWO    CHAIRS    OF    WILLIAM    PENN  S 

In  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia. 


seat  with  arms  and  turned  rails,  and  legs  with  fluted  feet ; 
the  other  is  a  good  example  of  the  chair  common  in  the 
first  years  of  the  century  under  the  Dutch  influence,  with 
slightly  cahriole  legs  and  hoof  feet. 

A  desk  of  Penn's  is  in  the  collection  of  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  of  walnut,  solid 
and  heavy.  The  only  attempt  at  decoration  is  in  the 
curves  into  which  the  front  har  is  cut,  and  the  cabriole 
legs  with  hoofed  feet.  A  long,  deep  drawer  runs  the  whole 
length  of  the  desk  below  the  flap.  It  is  fitted  with  brass 
handles  and  key  plates.    See  plate  facing  page  82. 

One  of  our  illustrations  (page   87)  shows  examples  of 

»5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

rush-bottomed  and  cane  chairs  that  so  constantly  occur  in 
the  colonists'  inventories  at  this  period.  The  legs  and 
arms  are  curved  and  turned.  The  one  on  the  left  has  the 
inscription : 

*'  /  know  not  where, 
I  know  not  when. 
But  in  this  chair 
Sat  William  Penn." 

These  two  specimens  are  also  in  the  Historical  Society 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Even  prior  to  1700  the  house  of  the  well-to-do  planter 
in  Pennsylvania  was  by  no  means  bare  or  lacking  in  com- 
fort, but  we  miss  the  arm.y  of  chairs  and  the  china  that 
were  to  be  found  in  the  colonies  further  south.  There  is 
an  atmosphere  of  greater  reserve  and  less  liberal  hospitality 
in  the  household  goods  of  Penn's  followers  than  we  feel  in 
Virginia,  Maryland  and  Carolina.  The  furniture,  however, 
is  evidently  the  same,  both  in  style  and  material,  and  most 
of  it  comes  from  England. 

Estates  of  more  than  a  thousand  pounds  in  value  were 
quite  numerous  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. Among  others,  John  Simcock  (died  in  1703)  may 
be  cited.  His  possessions  were  valued  at  more  than  ^^i  500, 
but  unfortunately  the  only  object  in  household  use  men- 
tioned is  a  silver  tankard,  ^^14.  Of  men  in  more  moder- 
ate circumstances  we  have  many  examples.  There  is 
Abraham  Hooper,  a  joiner  (1707).  His  "shop  goods" 
would  undoubtedly  include  the  rougher  kinds  of  home- 
made tables  and  chairs.  His  dwelling  and  the  lot  it  stood 
on  were  valued  at  jC^'^S  »  household  goods  and  shop  goods, 
^246;  tools,  ;^54;  walnut,  cedar,  pine  and  oak,  ;^22. 
He  was  worth  nearly  £joo  in  all.     Then  we  have  Wil- 

86 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

liam  Lewis,  in  1708,  who  was  some  ;£^200  poorer.  He 
was  a  Welshman,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  appraiser  of 
his  goods  was  one  of  his  own  countrymen,  or  else  a  wag 
who  carried  his  jesting  even  into  the  spelling  of  court 
records.  We  remember  how  Fluellen  speaks  of  "  the  poys 
and  the  luggage,"  "the  pragging   knave,  who  prings  me 


TWO    EARLY    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    ARMCHAIRS 
The  chair  to  the  Ich  belunged  tu  William  Penn.     The  right-band  one  ha«  been  remodelled. 

pread,"  and  "a  prave  pattle."  Besides  the  usual  linen,  tools, 
implements  and  utensils,  Mr.  Lewis  owned  a  long  table 
and  six  chairs;  four  chests  and  five  boxes;  one  black  wal- 
nut and  two  oak  bedsteads,  two  rugs,  "curtains,  iron  rods 
and  valience,  2  plankett  at  ^^2-1 0-0,  2  more  at  ;^i-i5-o, 
2  old  plankett,  2  old  poulsters  and  i  small  bag,  ;^i-i5-o;" 
a  small  looking-glass  and  two  pairs  of  scales. 

Many    individuals  who    were  by   no    means    indigent 

I7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

lived  with  the  plainest  surroundings.  For  instance,  John 
Moore  died  in  171 9  worth  ^^319.  His  dwelling  and 
plantation  of  100  acres  were  valued  at  ;^ioo.  Besides  the 
usual  kitchen  stuff,  all  the  furniture  he  possessed  consisted 
of  two  feather  beds  and  bedding,  a  rough  table,  four  chairs, 
a  trunk,  and  a  looking-glass. 

John  Jones  was  a  gentleman  of  wealth,  and  his  posses- 
sions show  that  his  tastes  were  not  so  simple  as  those  of 
many  of  his  contemporaries,  who  were  far  richer.  At  his 
death  in  1708,  his  personal  estate  amounted  to  ^^773-6-2. 
Mr.  Jones  is  especially  interesting  on  account  of  owning 
one  of  the  earliest  pieces  of  mahogany  to  be  found  here — 
a  "broaken  mahogany  skreen,"  which  is  set  down  at  two 
shillings.  It  was  not  therefore  very  highly  esteemed,  for 
that  sum  is  the  estimated  value  of  two  leather  stools,  or  a 
glass  tea-cup  and  coffee-cup,  in  the  same  inventory.  The 
Windsor  chair  also  appears  here,  three  being  worth  ten 
shillings.  It  is  thus  evident  that  Mr.  Jones  liked  to  keep 
up  with  the  latest  fashions.  His  plate  comprised  two 
silver  tankards,  two  caudle  cups,  one  porringer,  fifteen 
spoons  and   three    large   dram   cups,  all   worth   j^42-i-8. 

Evidence  of  good  living  is  ample  in  the  large  amount 
of  brass  and  copper  pots  and  pans  and  kitchen  stuff 
of  all  kinds.  Among  the  glass,  china  and  earthenware, 
we  notice  seventeen  earthen  plates  and  two  fruit  dishes,  a 
small  punch  bowl,  five  glasses,  seven  basons  and  saucers, 
two  jugs,  three  sugar  pots,  a  dish,  a  lignum-vitae  punch 
bowl,  etc.  A  pair  of  tobacco-tongs  and  fourteen  dozen 
pipes  attest  Mr.  Jones's  indulgence  in  the  weed. 

It  is  in  the  beds,  however,  and  their  coverings  and  cur- 
tains, that  Mr.  Jones's  decorative  taste  is  chiefly  noticeable. 
He  possessed  seven  or  eight  bedsteads,  with  cords,  sacking- 

88 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bottoms  and  rods,  the  value  of  which  varied  from  ten  shillings 
to  two  pounds.  There  was  a  large  quantity  of  bed  and  table 
linen,  besides  "a  chimney  valence,"  sideboard  cloths,  and 
two  little  striped  carpets.  In  addition  to  the  beds,  we  find 
seven  hammocks,  the  cheapest  being  worth  three  shillings, 
and  the  choicest,  *'with  double  fringe,"  j^2-io-o.  No  pic- 
tures graced  the  walls,  but  twelve  maps  of  Barbadoes  occur. 

Specimens  of  the  Windsor  chair,  mentioned  above,  are 
very  numerous.  Carpenters'  Hall,  Philadelphia,  possesses 
a  number  of  them.  A  good  example  that  came  from 
Washington's  Presidential  Mansion,  in  Philadelphia,  is  now 
owned  by  the  Philadelphia  Library.     (See  page  131.) 

Another  interesting  specimen  of  one  variety  of  the 
Windsor  chair  was  that  used  by  Thomas  Jefferson  while 
writing  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  seat  is 
double,  allowing  the  top  part  to  revolve.  It  is  unusually 
low  and  has  apparently  been  cut  down  to  suit  the  conven- 
ience of  its  owner.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  in  Philadelphia. 

Francis  Daniel  Pastorius,  born  in  Franconia,  in  1651, 
joined  the  Pietists,  and  took  a  colony  of  German  and 
Dutch  Memnonites  and  Quakers  to  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  arrived  in  1683,  He  had  previously  visited  Penn,  in 
England,  and  joined  the  Society  of  Friends.  On  his  arrival 
he  founded  Germantown,  and  until  his  death  was  very 
influential  in  the  community. 

Pastorius  devoted  much  energy  to  teaching,  and  his 
knowledge  is  apparent  in  the  variety  of  books  he  possessed. 
He  died  in  171 9,  and  the  list  of  his  possessions  shows  the 
simple  style  in  which  he  lived,  and  is  characteristic  of  the 
homes  of  his  fellow  mystics.  One  hundred  primers  men- 
tioned were  doubtless  used  in  his  teaching. 

89 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Pastorius  owned  a  very  respectable  parcel  of  land — 873 
acres — but  the  value  of  it  was  only  ;^i5o.  The  furniture, 
exclusive  of  clothes,  tools,  household  linen  and  kitchen 
utensils,  consisted  only  of  two  cheap  bedsteads  with 
feather  beds,  a  fine  chest,  three  chairs,  one  table,  one 
trunk,  one  desk  and  one  knife  and  fork.  He  possessed 
bibles  in  quarto  and  octavo,  a  Greek  testament,  fourteen 
dictionaries,  books  in  French  (;^i),  English  (^12),  Latin 
(j^i2).  High  Dutch  {£s),  and  Low  Dutch  (;^6). 

Another  famous  house,  of  a  far  different  type,  was  that 
built  by  Baron  Stiegel  at  Mannheim.  It  was  perfectly 
square,  each  side  being  forty  feet.  The  bricks  were  im- 
ported from  England,  and  hauled  from  Philadelphia  by 
the  baron's  teams.  The  large  parlour  was  hung  with 
tapestry,  representing  hunting  scenes,  the  chimney-pieces 
were  decorated  with  blue  tiles,  and  the  wainscoting  and 
doors  were  extremely  fine.  There  was  a  "chapel"  also 
within  the  house,  where  the  baron  used  to  preach  to  the 
working-men  of  his  large  glass  works  (founded  in  1768),  at 
one  time  the  only  glass  factory  in  America.  This  extraordi- 
nary character,  who  experienced  the  extremes  of  wealth  and 
poverty  and  who  emigrated  to  the  New  World  from  Ger- 
many in  1750  with  a  fortune  of  ^^'40,000,  used  to  drive 
from  Philadelphia  to  Mannheim  in  a  coach  and  four, 
preceded  by  postilions  and  a  pack  of  hounds.  He  enter- 
tained lavishly  and  was  particularly  fond  of  music.  It  is 
said  that  he  frequently  bought  instruments  for  any  of  his 
workmen  who  exhibited  a  talent  for  music,  and  hired 
teachers  for  them.  A  spinet  that  belonged  to  the  Baron 
at  Mannheim,  now  owned  by  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society,  is  represented  here.  The  accidentals  are  white  and 
the  naturals  black,  showing  it  to  be  a  German  instrument. 

90 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  height  of  elegance  and  fashion  would  naturally 
be  looked  for  in  the  governor's  mansion.  Therefore  an 
examination  of  the  household  goods  of  Governor  Patrick 
Gordon,  whose  will  and  inventory  are  dated  1736,  will 
show  what  was  the  highest  degree  of  luxury  and  comfort 
at  that  time.  Governor  Gordon  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in 
1726  and  was  governor  of  Pennsylvania  for  ten  years;  he 
died  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  He  was  a  trained  soldier, 
had  acquired  a  reputation  in  Queen  Anne's  reign,  and  was 
exceedingly  popular. 

Besides  about  a  dozen  common  chairs,  the  list  includes 
eighteen  rush-bottomed  walnut,  eight  leather,  four  mo- 
hair, four  cane,  five  Windsor,  and  three  easy-chairs.  One 
of  the  latter  was  covered  with  plush  and  the  other 
two  were  luxurious  and  costly.  There  were  also  three 
stools,  a  mohair  settee,  and  a  cane  couch.  There  were 
eighteen  tables  in  the  house,  only  two  of  which  were 
of  mahogany — a  small  round  and  a  tea-table.  The  other 
kinds  mentioned  were  oak,  two  large  walnut,  walnut  one 
leaf,  small  walnut,  tea-table  and  board,  ditto  and  cover, 
Dutch  tea-table,  card  and  backgammon,  square  pine  small 
ditto,  table  and  green  cloth,  kitchen  and  other  ordinary 
tables.  The  rooms  also  contained  six  dressing-tables,  one 
being  of  pine ;  the  other  woods  are  not  specified.  One 
clock,  two  dressing-glasses,  two  looking-glasses,  a  fine 
black  cabinet,  a  walnut  desk,  and  a  desk  and  a  stool  are 
also  mentioned.  Besides  candle-sticks,  the  lighting  appa- 
ratus consisted  of  three  brass  arms,  two  large  and  two 
smaller  sconces  (both  very  ornate  and  expensive),  one  pair 
of  brass  and  one  of  glass  branches,  and  two  glass  lanterns. 
The  torches  that  once  lighted  the  governor's  guests  to  his 
door  are   also  extinct,  and  their  existence   is   slightingly 

9> 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

recorded  with  the  words  "  some  bits  of  flambeaux  being  of 
no  value."  Nine  sets  of  andirons,  dogs,  and  fire-irons, 
with  some  fenders  and  iron  chimney-backs,  garnished  the 
hearths.  The  principal  room  had  an  iron  grate  and  hearth- 
ware,  worth  only  a  few  shillings  less  than  the  combined 
value  of  a  mahogany  table,  and  half  a  dozen  walnut  chairs 
in  the  same  room.  It  is  questionable  whether  the  carpets 
mentioned  were  floor  coverings,  because  a  "floor  cloth"  is 
a  separate  item.  If  the  "large  carpet,"  valued  at  ^^5-1 5-0, 
was  a  table-cloth,  it  must  have  been  an  unusually  fine  pro- 
duct of  the  loom,  or  the  needle,  for  that  sum  was  more 
than  the  cost  of  eight  leather  chairs.  In  one  room,  at 
least,  there  were  expensive  damask  curtains  over  the  doors 
as  well  as  the  windows.  The  prices  of  the  calico  window 
curtains  varied  surprisingly,  one  set  being  appraised  at 
twelve  shillings,  and  another  at  ;^3-i5-o.  Then  there 
were  three  pairs  of  window  curtains  (^  1-6-0),  red  curtains 
and  silk  curtains  besides  the  window  curtains  in  the  bed- 
rooms that  matched  the  bed  hangings.  A  valuable  gilt 
leather  screen  and  a  humbler  one  of  canvas  also  served  as 
a  protection  against  draughts.  The  walls  were  adorned 
with  some  fifty  pictures  of  various  kinds,  twenty-one  of 
which  were  prints,  including  one  of  King  George  I., 
another  of  Queen  Anne's  tomb,  and  twelve  of  Hudibras. 
Loyal  sentiment  further  appears  in  duplicates  (in  oil)  of 
George  I.  and  Anne.  The  nationality  of  the  owner  ac- 
counts for  the  presence  of  a  painting  of  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots  (;f  21),  and  another  picture  of  Queen  Mary,  of  equal 
value,  which  was  doubtless  the  luckless  Stuart,  and  not  the 
wife  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Governor  Gordon's  taste 
in  art,  however,  ran  to  the  Dutch  school.  He  owned  two 
Dutch   pictures,  five  "landskips,"  two  sea-pieces,  a  fiower- 

92 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

piece  and  "an  old  woman  frying  pancakes  "  ;  besides  these 
there  were  two  small  gilt-frame  pictures,  four  small  pic- 
tures, and  some  family  pictures.  His  own  portrait,  in  oils, 
also  adorned  the  walls.    The  paintings  were  valued  at  j^io^. 

The  governor's  few  books  were  valued  at  only  j[io; 
his  wearing  apparel  at  ;f  142-2-6.  He  had  an  exception- 
ally well  stocked  wine  cellar.  The  silver  plate  weighed 
1053  oz.,  15  dwt.,  which  at  117  pence  per  ounce, 
amounted  to  nearly  ;^5i4-  Thirty-two  china  dishes,  one 
china  bason  and  128  plates,  worth  ;^i 93-9-0,  other  china 
to  the  value  of  ;£^20,  much  glass,  including  twenty 
decanters  and  cruets,  and  a  lot  of  earthenware  and  cutlery, 
constituted  the  table  service.  The  kitchen  stuff  and  cook- 
ing vessels  and  utensils  were  plentiful.  Table  and  bed 
linen  amounted  to  ^^81-4-1. 

The  beds  are  deserving  of  special  notice  on  account  of 
the  variety  in  their  furnishings.  The  wood  of  which  they 
were  made  is  not  stated,  but  the  weight  of  some  of  the 
feather  beds,  bolsters  and  pillows  is,  and  therefore  we  learn 
that  feather  bedding  varied  in  price  from  two  shillings 
and  three  pence  to  three  shillings  per  pound.  The  weights 
given  are  36,  37,  45,  48,  50,  51,  60,  and  72  pounds  re- 
spectively. The  furnishings  included:  bedstead  with 
calico  curtains,  ;^6-5-o;  bedstead,  ^^'2-3-0;  mohair  bed 
and  silk  curtains,  ;^  13-5-0;  fustian  wrought  bed,  ^^'9- 
lo-o;  bedvStead  and  curtains,  ;^3-i9-o;  bedstead,  j("  1-7-6; 
bedstead  and  seersucker  curtains  ^^4;  and  bedstead  and 
green  curtains,  j^2-i6-o.  Four  bedsteads  seein  to  have 
had  no  curtains  at  all.  Two  mattresses  are  appraised  at 
j[2-\o-o.  Three  blankets  and  one  quilt  were  the  allow- 
ance for  most  of  the  beds.  The  total  value  of  the  gov- 
ernor's goods  and  chattels  was  nearly  j^20oo. 

93 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


James  Logan,  an  exceedingly  wealthy  and  cultured  man, 
built    Stentoriy   on    the    Germantown     Road,    in     1727-8. 

Half  of  the  front  of  the  house  to  the  second  story  was 
taken  up  by  one  large,  finely-lighted  room,  the  library  of 
the  book-loving   masters  of  the   place.      This  remarkably 


A    TABLE 
The  date  of  this  is  uncertain       The  pierced  escutcheons,  if  original,  fix  it  at  about  1760,  however. 


interesting  collection  of  books  was  bequeathed  to  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  by  Mr.  Logan,  who  also  contributed  the 
Springettsbury  property  (a  bequest  from  the  Penn  estate), 
as  an  endowment. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  walnut  table 
from  Stenton  which  is  one  of  those  specified  in  the  in- 
ventory.     It  is  a  good  example  of  the  period.      It  has  two 

94 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

drawers  with  brajK  handles  and  key-plates.  This  table  is 
now  owned  by  the  Philadelphia  Library. 

That  Mr.  Logan  was  a  man  of  taste  as  well  as  wealth 
is  evident  from  the  harmony  of  colouring  aimed  at  in  his 
yellow  bed-room  with  its  maple  furnishings.  His  ample 
hall  served  its  old  purpose  as  a  reception  room,  though 
in  the  new  houses  that  were  being  built  there  was  a  grow- 
ing tendency  to  suppress  the  hall  as  a  separate  apartment 
for  living  and  receptions;  it  was  becoming  merely  the 
entry,  out  of  which  other  rooms  opened.  Little  by  little 
beds,  couches  and  settees  were  banished  from  halls  to  other 
apartments.  Most  noticeable  of  all,  however,  is  the  fact 
that  among  all  Mr.  Logan's  possessions  not  a  single  piece  of 
mahogany  is  mentioned.  Except  for  the  lack  of  carpets  and 
pictures,  the  furniture  and  its  disposition  seem  almost 
entirely  modern. 

The  home  of  a  wealthy  Pennsylvanian  of  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  presents  a  marked  contrast  with 
that  of  a  plantation  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  Servants 
slept  at  the  top  of  the  house. 

The  illustration  facing  page  i  oo  shows  varieties  of  chairs 
common  during  this  period.  The  chair  on  the  left  is  ex- 
ceedingly plain.  The  reading-desk  is  of  walnut.  It  can 
be  adjusted  at  any  height  to  suit  the  comfort  of  the  reader 
by  turning  on  the  screw  support.  A  lid  opens  into  the  in- 
terior in  which  papers  were  kept.  The  central  pillar 
terminates  in  a  burning  torch  and  the  legs  end  in  the  fa- 
vourite ball  and  claw  feet.  This  desk  belonged  to  Hon. 
John  Dickinson,  the  publicist,  and  these  specimens  are 
preserved  in  the  Philadelphia  Library. 

Besides  household  furniture,  the  old  records  occasionally 
afford  a  glimpse  of  the  furniture  used  in  churches,  colleges 

95 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  court-houses.  This  was  sometimes  imported,  but  fre- 
quently made  by  local  joiners.  At  the  vestry  meeting  of 
St.  Paul's  parish,  Kent  County,  Md.,  April  6,  1702,  it  was 
resolved  "  that  Mr.  Elias  King  do  provide  Linnen  for  the 
Communion:  one  table  cloth  and  two  napkins," — that  the 
clerk  write  a  note  to  Colonel  Hynson  to  request  him  to 
order  his  "Joyner  to  make  a  Communion  Table  four  feet 
square,  with  a  drawer  underneath  to  put  the  Church  Books 
in,  and  to  make  it  of  black  walnut."  Again  on  June  i, 
1703,  "  Eliner  Smith  this  day  was  pleased  to  present  the 
Church  with  a  pulpit  cloth  and  a  cushion.  Mr.  Giles  Bond 
also  is  requested  to  provide  a  chest  to  put  the  Pulpit  cloth. 
Cushion  and  Church  Books  in,  and  Colonel  Hans  Hanson  is 
empowered  to  agree  with  Jacob  Young  to  alter  the  Pulpit 
door  and  Staircase  Rails  and  fit  it  for  to  hang  the  pulpit 
cloth." 

The  illustration  shows  a  chair  and  communion  table 
and  service  belonging  to  the  early  part  of  the  century. 
They  are  from  Donegal,  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  and  date 
from  1722.  The  table  and  chair  are  both  common  types  in 
use  in  England  and  the  colonies  during  the  seventeenth  and 
early  eighteenth  centuries,  and  were  to  be  found  in  any 
ordinary  house:  there  is  nothing  distinctively  ecclesiastical 
about  them.  They  could  easily  be  made  by  a  native  joiner. 
The  silver  communion  cups  are  also  plain  and  severe. 

From  the  inventories  of  the  period  we  may  gain  a  good 
idea  of  the  appearance  the  early  Philadelphia  homes 
presented.  Carpets  were  not  in  common  use  until  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  We  are  told  that  the  floors 
were  sanded  and  that  the  sand-man  went  his  rounds  regu- 
larly and  that  the  housewives  or  servants  sprinkled  the  sand 
on  the  floor  through  a  sieve  or  arranged  it  in  patterns  with 

96 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

deft  turns  of  the  broom.  The  walls  were  whitewashed 
until  about  1745,  when  we  find  one  Charles  Hargrave  ad- 
vertising wall-paper,  and  a  little  later  Peter  Fleeson  manu- 
facturing paper-hangings  and  />^//»/Vr-w^/f^^  mouldings  at  the 
corner  of  Fourth  and  Chestnut  streets. 

Franklin  invented  the  open  stove  known  by  his  name. 


A    CHAIR    AND    COMMUNION    TABLE 

There  is  nothing  ecclesiastically  distinctive  about  these  pieces.     The  silver  communion  cups  are 
alto  plain  and  severe. 


in   1742,  which  was  greatly  preferred  to  the  German  stove 
made  by  Christopher  Sauer  in  Ciermantown. 

The  following  letter  from  Franklin  shows  that  he 
was  anxious  for  Mrs.  Franklin  to  have  some  of  the  latest 
London  styles.  This  letter  is  dated  London,  1 9  February, 
1758,  and  says: 

I  send  you  by  Captain  Budden  ...  six  coarse 
diaper  breakfast  cloths ;  they  are  to  spread  on  the 
tea  table,  for  nobody  breakfasts  here  on  the  naked 


97 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

table,  but  on  the  cloth  they  set  a  large  tea  board  with 
the  cups.  .  .  . 

In  the  great  case,  besides  the  little  box,  is  con- 
tained some  carpeting  for  the  best  room  floor.  There 
is  enough  for  one  large  or  two  small  ones  ;  it  is  to 
be  sewed  together,  the  edges  being  first  felled  down, 
and  care  taken  to  make  the  figures  meet  exactly  ; 
there  is  bordering  for  the  same.  This  was  my  fancy. 
Also  two  large  fine  Flanders  bedticks,  and  two  pair 
of  large  superfine  blankets,  two  fine  damask  table- 
cloths and  napkins,  and  forty-three  ells  of  Ghentish 
sheeting  from  Holland.  These  you  ordered.  There 
are  also  fifty-six  yards  of  cotton,  printed  curi- 
ously from  copper  plates,  a  new  invention,  to  make 
bed  and  window  curtains  ;  and  seven  yards  of  chair 
bottoms,  printed  in  the  same  way,  very  neat.  This 
was  my  fancy  ;  but  Mrs,  Stevenson  tells  me  I  did 
wrong  not  to  buy  both  of  the  same  colour.  .  .  . 
There  are  also  snuffers,  a  snuflFstand,  and  extinguish- 
er, of  steel,  which  I  send  for  the  beauty  of  workman- 
ship. The  extinguisher  is  for  spermaceti  candles 
only,  and  is  of  a  new  contrivance,  to  preserve  the 
snufFupon  the  candle.  .  .  , 

I  forgot  to  mention  another  of  my  fancyings, 
viz.,  a  pair  of  silk  blankets,  very  fine.  They  are  of 
a  new  kind,  were  just  taken  in  a  French  prize,  and 
such  were  never  seen  in  England  before.  They  are 
called  blankets,  but  I  think  they  will  be  very  neat 
to  cover  a  summer  bed,  instead  of  a  quilt  or 
counterpane.   .  .  . 

I  hope  Sally  applies  herself  closely  to  her  French 
and  music,  and  that  I  shall  find  she  has  made 
great  proficiency.  The  harpsichord  I  was  aboutj 
and  which  was  to  have  cost  me  forty  guineas,  Mr 
Stanley  advises  me  not  to  buy ;  and  we  are  looking 
out  for  another,  one  that  has  been  some  time  m  use, 

9» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  is  a  tried  good  one,  there  being  not  so  much 
dependence  on  a  new  one,  though  made  by  the  best 
hands. 

On  this  page  are  shown  two  chairs  owned  by  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  The  one  to  the  right 
is  of  the  early  Chippendale  school,  with  gracefully  pierced 


TWO    EFFECTIVE    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY    CHAIRS 

To  the  left  !«  an  annchair  with  turned  legs,  straining-pieces  and  balusters.     The  chair  to  the  right 
it  bandy-legged,  with  claw  feet.     The  delicacy  of  the  carving  suggests  Chippendale's  simpler  work. 

and  carved  jar-shaped  splat  and  cabriole  legs  with  eagle 
claw  and  ball  foot  and  carved  shell  in  the  middle  of  the 
front  rail.  The  other  chair,  with  legs  and  rails  of  turned 
bead-work,  belonged  to  Thomas  Lawrence,  who  was  several 
times  mayor  and  councillor,  from  1728  onward. 

The  examples  already  given  show  that  though  many  of 

99 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  prosperous  class  during  the  first  half  of  the  century 
clung  to  a  certain  severity  in  their  homes,  yet  "Quaker 
simplicity  "  was  by  no  means  universal,  and  elegance  and 
fashion  had  many  devotees.  Skilful  upholsterers  and  carv- 
ers and  gilders  found  plenty  to  do  in  Pennsylvania  as  in  the 
South.  Two  or  three  advertisements  from  the  American 
Weekly  Messenger  will  show  that  it  was  considered  worth 
while  informing  the  public  where  the  latest  fashions  in 
furniture  were  obtainable. 

March  20,  1729. 

Peter  Baynton,  Front  Street,  has  very  good  red 
leather  chairs,  the  newest  fashion,  and  sundry  other 
European  goods  for  sale. 

June  8,  1732. 

Jno.  Adams,  Upholsterer,  lately  arrived  from 
London,  living  in  Front  Street  .  .  .  makes  and 
sells  all  sorts  of  upholstered  goods,  viz.,  beds  and 
bedding,  easy  chairs,  settees,  squabs  and  couches, 
window-seat  cushions,  Russia  leather  chairs  .  .  . 
at  reasonable  prices. 

Oct.  31,  1734. 

Next  door  to  Caleb  Ransteed's  in  Market  Street, 
Philadelphia,  all  sorts  of  Opholsterers'  work  is  per- 
formed, viz.,  beds  after  the  most  fashionable  and 
plain  way  to  take  off  the  woodwork,  settee  beds,  and 
easie  chair  beds, commodious  for  lower  rooms  (models 
of  which  may  be  seen),  field  beds,  pallet  beds,  cur- 
tains for  coaches,  easie  chairs,  cushions,  etc.  reason- 
able and  with  expedition  by  William  Atlee. 

N.  B.  Any  person  willing  to  have  a  bed  stand 
in  an  alcove,  which  is  both  warm  and  handsom,  may 
have  the  same  hung  and  finished  in  the  most  ele- 
gant manner  customary  in  the  best  houses  in  Eng- 
land. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


TWO    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    CHAIRS 
The  chair  to  the  left  has  a  rush  seat.     The  armchair  on  the  right  has  bandy  legs  and  claw  feet. 


Peter  Petridge,  screen-maker,  in  175 1  was  doing  busi- 
ness at  the  sign  of  the  "  Half  Moon,"  opposite  Jersey 
Market.  Thomas  Lawrence,  upholsterer,  was  on  Second 
street  opposite  Church  Alley  with  the  sign  of  "  The  Tent," 
and  Samuel  Williams,  a  joiner  on  Walnut  street,  summed 
up  the  whole  of  life  in  his  sign  "Cradle  and  Coffin."  In 
1756  the  sign  of  the  "  Royal  Bed  "  hung  out  at  the  corner 
of  Second  and  Chestnut  street,  where  Edward  Weyman  was 
settled;  the  "Crown  and  Cushion"  could  be  seen  swing- 
ing on  Front  and  Chestnut  street,  where  James  White  and 
Thomas  Lawrence,  upholsterers,  conducted  business ;  and 
John  Elliott  took  his  orders  at  the  **  Bell  and  Looking- 
Glass"  on  Chestnut  street.  The  "  Crown  and  Cushion"  was 
next  door  to  the  London  Coffee  House  in  1762,  and  Blanche 


lot 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

White,  possibly  the  widow  of  James  White,  managed  the 
business.  Ben  Randolph,  "carving,  cabinet  ware  and  wooden 
buttons,"  swings  the  "  Golden  Eagle  "  in  1 765  ;  and  George 
Ritchie,  upholsterer,  is  established  at  Front  street,  below 
Arch,  at  the  "Crown  and  Tassel."  In  1768  Thomas  Af- 
fleck is  a  cabinet-maker  on  Second  street,  and  Robert  Moon 
is  a  **  chair  and  cabinet-maker  "  on  Front  street. 

The  plate  on  page  loi  shows  two  chairs,  one  of  1700, 
with  plain  splat,  high  back,  rush  bottom  and  turned  rails 
and  front  legs  with  fluted  feet.  The  other  shows  the 
Dutch  cabriole  leg  and  bird's  claw  and  ball  foot  with  plain 
arms.  The  splat  has  been  padded  and  covered,  and  there- 
fore its  ornamentation  can  only  be  surmised.  These  speci- 
mens are  owned  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

Among  the  clockmakers  of  Philadelphia  were  Augus- 
tine Neisser,  a  native  of  Moravia,  who  emigrated  to  Georgia 
in  1736  and  removed  to  Germantown  in  1739.  All  of  his 
clocks  bear  his  name,  but  no  date  on  the  dial.  Edward 
Duffield,  born  in  Philadelphia  County  in  1720,  made  much 
apparatus  for  Franklin.  He  was  a  clock-  and  watchmaker 
from  1741  to  1747  in  Philadelphia,  and  removed  to  Lower 
Dublin,  Philadelphia  County.  David  Rittenhouse,  a  fa- 
mous clockmaker,  laboured  from  1751  till  1777  at  Norriton 
and  Philadelphia.  Ephraim  Clark  made  timepieces  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Front  and  Market  streets  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Benjamin,  in  1792. 

The  Rittenhouse  astronomical  clock  constructed  for 
Joseph  Potts,  who  paid  $640  for  it,  was  bought  by  Thomas 
Prior  in  1776.  General  Howe  wanted  to  purchase  it  and 
the  ambassador  of  Spain  also  tried  to  buy  it  for  the  King  of 
Spain.  It  became  the  property  of  G.  W.  Childs  and  is 
now  in  the  Memorial  Hail,  Philadelphia. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

It  has  been  shown  that  mahogany  was  known  in  Phila- 
delphia before  1708,  but  its  spread  was  very  slow.  Chests 
of  drawers  and  tables  occasionally  occur  during  the  next  ten 
years,  but  chairs  are  exceedingly  scarce  till  the  middle  of 
the  century.  Even  by  the  native  makers,  however,  ma- 
hogany must  have  been  used  in  cabinetwork  before  1722, 
for  in  that  year  when  Jonathan  Dickinson,  merchant,  died 
he  had  mahogany  furniture  in  his  house  and  in  his  store, 
where  he  also  had  on  sale  a  lot  of  mahogany  planks. 

So  many  examples  of  richly  hung  beds  have  been  given 
that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  dwell  further  on  their  im- 
portance. The  immigrants  all  seem  to  have  wanted  a 
feather  bed,  and  sometimes  the  demand  seems  to  have  ex- 
hausted the  supply.  In  1725,  a  new  arrival,  Robert  Parke, 
writing  to  Mary  Valentine  in  Ireland  about  coming  out, 
says :  "  Feather  beds  are  not  to  be  had  here  and  not  to  be 
had  for  money."  At  the  close  of  our  period,  on  the  eve  of 
the  Revolution,  Alexander  Mackraby  visited  Philadelphia. 
Writing  to  his  uncle,  Sir  Philip  Francis  (the  reputed  yuri/us), 
on  January  20,  1768,  he  says:  "I  could  hardly  find  my- 
self out  this  morning  in  a  most  elegant  crimson  silk  damask 
bed."     This  was  on  a  visit  to  Dr.  Franklin's  son. 

Much  attention  was  paid  in  many  cases  to  the  decorat- 
ive effect  of  the  furniture  and  hangings;  the  bedrooms 
especially  were  often  limited  to  one  prevailing  hue.  The 
Red,  Yellow,  or  Blue  Room  is  constantly  met  with,  and 
numerous  instances  occur  in  which  the  bed  and  window  cur- 
tains matched.  Harmony  in  colour  and  arrangement  was 
frequently  sought  in  homes  of  moderate  means  as  well  as 
in  splendid  mansions.  Views  on  this  subject  are  expressed 
by  a  certain  Miss  Sarah  Eve,  who  kept  a  journal  in  1773. 

"  Feb.  1  oth.      We  slept  into  Mrs.  Parish's  for  a  moment 

103 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  then  went  to  Mrs.  Stretch's.  We  were  much  pleased 
with  our  visit  and  her  new  house :  the  neatness  and  pro- 
portions of  the  furniture  corresponding  so  well  with  the 
size  of  the  house,  that  here  one  may  see  elegance  in  minia- 
ture. I  don't  mean  the  elegance  of  a  palace,  but  of  simpli- 
city, which  is  preferable — the  one  pleases  the  eye  but 
flatters  the  vanity,  the  other  pleases  the  judgment  and 
cherishes  nature.  As  I  walked  through  this  home  I  could 
not  help  saying  this  surely  might  be  taken  for  the  habita- 
tion of  Happiness." 

It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  a  century  and  a  quar- 
ter ago  William  Penn  already  belonged  to  ancient  history 
in  the  eyes  of  Miss  Eve,  for  on  May  6th  she  writes: 

"  Mrs.  Bunton  that  lives  here  showed  us  some  furniture 
which  might  really  be  termed  relicks  of  antiquity,  which 
belonged  to  William  Penn ;  they  purchased  the  clock  which 
it  was  said  struck  one  just  before  William  Penn  died  ;  what 
makes  this  remarkable  is  that  it  had  not  struck  for  some 
years  before." 

During  the  years  that  have  elapsed  between  the 
letter  quoted  from  Franklin  to  his  wife  and  the  follow- 
ing correspondence,  one  may  note  the  steady  advance  of 
luxury  in  his  home.  Mrs.  Franklin,  writing  to  her  hus- 
band (again  in  London),  in  1765,  thus  describes  the  home: 

In  the  room  down  stairs  is  the  sideboard,  which 
is  very  handsome  and  plain,  with  two  tables  made  to 
suit  it,  and  a  dozen  of  chairs  also.  The  chairs  are 
plain  horsehair,  and  look  as  well  as  Paduasoy,  and 
are  admired  by  all.  The  little  south  room  I  have 
papered,  as  the  walls  were  much  soiled.  In  this  room 
is  a  carpet  I  bought  cheap  for  its  goodness,  and 
nearly  new.     The  large  carpet  is  in  the  blue  room. 

104 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

In  the  parlour  is  a  Scotch  carpet,  which  has  had 
much  fault  found  with  it.  Your  time-piece  stands 
in  one  corner,  which  is,  I  am  told,  all  wrong — but  I 
say,  we  shall  have  all  these  as  they  should  be,  when 
you  come  home.  If  you  could  meet  with  a  Turkey 
carpet,  I  should  like  it ;  but  if  not,  I  should  be  very 
easy,  for  as  to  these  things,  I  have  become  quite  in- 
different at  this  time.  In  the  north  room  where  we 
sit,  we  have  a  small  Scotch  carpet — the  small  book- 
case— brother  John's  picture,  and  one  of  the  King 
and  Queen.  In  the  room  for  our  friends,  we  have 
the  Harl  of  Bute  hung  up  and  a  glass.  May  I  de- 
sire you  to  remember  the  drinking  glasses  and  a 
large  table  cloth  or  two;  also  a  pair  of  silver  cannls- 
ters.  The  closet  doors  in  your  room  have  been 
framed  for  glasses,  unknown  to  me ;  I  shall  send 
you  an  account  of  the  panes  required.  I  shall  also 
send  the  measures  of  the  fireplaces,  and  the  pier  of 
glass.  The  chimneys  do  well,  and  I  have  baked 
in  the  oven,  and  found  it  is  good.  The  room  we 
call  yours  has  in  it  a  desk — the  harmonica  made 
like  a  desk — a  large  chest  with  all  the  writings 
— the  boxes  of  glasses  for  music,  and  for  the  elec- 
tricity, and  all  your  clothes.  The  pictures  are  not 
put  up,  as  I  do  not  like  to  drive  nails  lest  they 
should  not  be  right.  The  Blue  room  has  the  har- 
monica and  the  harpsichord,  the  gilt  sconce,  a  card 
table,  a  set  of  tea  china,  the  worked  chairs  and  screen 
— a  very  handsome  stand  for  the  tea  kettle  to  stand 
on,  and  the  ornamental  china.  The  paper  of  this 
room  has  lost  much  of  its  bloom  by  pasting  up.  The 
curtains  are  not  yet  made.  The  south  room  is  my 
sleeping  room  with  my  Susannah, — where  we  have 
a  bed  without  curtains, — a  chest  of  drawers,  a  table, 
a  glass,  and  old  black  walnut  chairs  and  some  of  our 
family  pictures.     Sally  has  the  south  room  up  two 

105 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

pair  of  stairs,  having  therein  a  bed,  bureau,  table, 
glass,  and  the  picture — a  trunk  and  books — but 
these  you  can't  have  any  notion  of. 

Writing  to  his  wife  from  London,  June  22,  1767,  he 
says  : 

I  suppose  the  room  is  too  blue,  the  wood  being 
of  the  same  colour  with  the  paper,  and  so  looks  too 
dark.  I  would  have  you  finish  it  as  soon  as  you 
can,  thus  :  paint  the  wainscot  a  dead  white  ;  paper 
the  walls  blue,  and  tack  the  gilt  border  round  just 
above  the  surbase  and  under  the  cornice.  If  the 
paper  is  not  equally  coloured  when  pasted  on,  let  it 
be  brushed  over  again  with  the  same  colour,  and  let 
the  papier  mache  musical  figures  be  tacked  to  the 
middle  of  the  ceiling.  When  this  is  done,  I  think 
it  will  look  very  well. 

An  unusually  interesting  chair  is  one  that  belonged  tc 
Benjamin  Franklin,  and  is  now  used  by  the  President  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia.  It  was 
invented  by  Franklin,  and,  as  shown  facing  page  108,  the 
seat  turns  up  and  forms  a  small  flight  of  steps.  Franklin 
used  it  in  his  library  to  reach  his  books  on  the  top  shelves. 
The  seat,  back  and  arms  are  covered  with  brown  leather 
fastened  with  brass  studs;   the  wood  is  walnut. 

Franklin's  clock,  represented  in  plate  facing  page  146, 
is  of  a  very  early  type.  It  difi^ers  very  slightly  from  the 
one  owned  by  William  Hudson,  and  mentioned  on  page 
84.     The  brasses  around  the  dial  are  very  delicate. 

We  are  now  on  the  threshold  of  the  Revolution,  whose 
flres  were  to  be  fatal  to  so  much  of  the  old  furniture.  One 
of  the  first  noticeable  efl^ects  of  the  outbreak  was  the  dis- 
crediting and  banishment  of  the  tea  equipage.  Judge 
Shippen  writing  to  his  father,  April  20,  1775,  tells  him: 

106 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Peggy  has  searched  every  shop  in  town  for  a 
blue  and  white  china  coffee  pot,  but  no  such  thing 
is  to  be  had,  nor  indeed  any  other  sort  than  can  be 
called  handsome.  Since  the  disuse  of  tea  great 
numbers  of  people  have  been  endeavouring  to  supply 
themselves  with  coffee  pots.  My  brother,  having 
no  silver  one,  has  taken  pains  to  get  a  china  one, 
but  without  success. 

The  importations  having  ceased,  the  native  furniture- 
makers  naturally  hastened  to  reap  their  harvest.  War 
prices  prevailed  and  the  usual  excuses  of  course  were  offered. 
To  his  brother-in-law,  Jasper  Yeates,  the  judge  writes, 
January  19,  1776  : 

I  enclose  you  the  bill  for  your  settee  and  chair 
which  Mr.  Fleeson  thought  it  necessary  to  accom- 
pany with  an  apology  on  account  of  its  being  much 
higher  than  he  gave  Mrs.  Shippen  reason  to  expect 
it  would  be  ;  he  says  every  material  which  he  has 
occasion  to  buy  is  raised  in  its  price  from  its  scarcity 
and  the  prevailing  exorbitance  of  the  storekeepers. 

The  chair  and  card-table,  shown  in  the  following 
illustration,  belonged  to  the  Hon.  Jasper  Yeates,  mentioned 
above,  who  was  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Pennsylvania  from  1791  till  his  death  in  18 17.  He  died 
in  Lancaster,  where  he  settled  about  1774.  Both  pieces 
are  of  walnut.  The  chair  is  Dutch  in  character,  squat  in 
appearance  and  with  cabriole  legs  with  claw  and  ball  feet, 
and  shell  ornaments.  The  splat  is  perforated  at  the  base 
and  pierced  by  two  tiers  of  four  slits  separated  by  a  curved 
mullion,  repeating  the  Gothic  window  effect.  The  arms 
terminate  in  scrolls  tightly  rolled  outward  with  bulging 
front  supports.  The  front  legs  are  plain  cabriole  with 
eagle  claw  and  ball   feet;   the  back  legs  are  square  all  the 

107 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

way  down.      The  centre  of  the  top  of  the  back  and  of  the 
front  rail  are  ornamented  with  a  carved  shell. 

The  folding  card-table  has  also  cabriole  legs  with  eagle 
claw  and  ball  feet.      It  has  a  drawer  with  brass  handle  and 


CHAIR    AND    CARD-TABLE 

Formerly  owned  by  the  Hon.  Jasper  Yeates,  Lancaster,  Pa.      Now  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  John  H. 
Brinton,  Philadelphia. 

a  pool  for  counters  at  each  side  in  the  centre  and  a  flat 
depression  at  each  corner  for  candlesticks.  These  two 
pieces  of  furniture  are  now  owned  by  Dr.  John  H.  Brinton, 
of  Philadelphia,  the  great-grandson  of  Jasper  Yeates. 

Here,  then,  we  pause,  reserving  the  history  of  Philadel- 
phia furniture  in  the  Revolutionary  days  for  a  future  chapter. 

SOUTH     CAROLINA,   VIRGINIA    AND     MARYLAND    TO     1 7/6 

THE  condition  of  the  houses  of  South  Carolina,  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  is  described  in  somewhat  un- 
flattering terms  by  Hewit,  who  wrote  half  a  century  later. 
The  weak  proprietary  government  was  held  responsible  for 

108 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

all  the  evils,  and  prosperity  is  said  to  have  dawned  only 
on  the  transfer  of  the  colony  to  the  Crown.  Sir  Alexander 
Gumming  was  sent  out  as  governor  in  1730,  and  concluded 
a  treaty  of  alliance  with  the  Cherokees.  The  colony  now 
being  secure,  the  English  merchants  established  houses  in 
Charleston  and  imported  slaves.  Simultaneously  their 
homes  began  to  reflect  in  articles  of  comfort,  luxury  and 
pleasure  the  changed  economic  conditions.  British  manu- 
factures for  the  plantations  were  introduced,  land  rose  in 
value,  and  the  planters  were  so  successful  that  in  a  few 
years  the  produce  of  the  colony  was  doubled. 

It  is  admitted  that  Nature  smiled  and  the  planters  got 
rich  easily  :  the  records  prove  also  that  they  demanded  and 
obtained  a  very  considerable  degree  of  luxury.  In  1731 
Charleston  contained  between  500  and  600  houses,  '*  most 
of  which  are  very  costly."  In  that  year,  also,  *•  a  skilful 
carpenter  is  not  ashamed  to  demand  thirty  shillings  a  day 
besides  his  diet ;  the  common  wages  of  a  workman  is 
twenty  shillings  a  day  provided  he  speaks  English."  The 
fact  is,  the  wealth  of  the  Southern  planters  increased  so 
rapidly  that  many  of  their  houses  showed  a  degree  of 
luxury  unsurpassed  by  the  London  merchants.  Personal 
estates  of  from  ^^500  to  ^^'5,000  are  found  by  the  hundred, 
and  in  many  cases  the  personal  property  runs  into  many 
thousands.  The  Landgrave  Joseph  Morton  is  a  good  type 
of   the   Carolina   planter  of  the  early  eighteenth   century. 

The  inventory  of  his  estate,  March  7,   1723,  is  as  follows: 
TooBooDOE   Plantation. 

£     s.     d. 

Furniture  in  the  best  chamber    .  .  195-0-0 

Do  dining  room  .  126-0-0 

Do  little  chamber  within  the 

dining  room  .  .  22-0-0 

109 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Do 

long  chamber   . 

£    s.    d. 
85-0-0 

Do 

little  parlour     . 

66-0-0 

Do 

hall 

52-0-0 

Do 

parlour     . 

135-0-0. 

Do 

chamber  within   t\ 

le  par- 

lour 

45-0-0 

The  library 

. 

1 50-0-0 

Linen 

. 

2 1 7-0-0 

Pewter 

. 

50-0-0 

Arms 

. 

70-0-0 

Plate 

. 

600-0-0 

Gold  Watch  anc 

.  silver  do 

150-0-0 

Cash  and  bonds 

5000-0-0 

Cattle  &c 

1 400-0-0 

Tools  &c 

. 

150-0-0 

Fifty  negroes     . 

. 

7250-0-0 
/ 1 5763-0-0 

Bear  Bluff  Plantation 

4459-0-0 

Mr.  Morton  was  by  no  means  an  exception.  Among 
many  other  rich  men  were:  Thomas  Grimball,  ^^6,700; 
Richard  Beresford,  ^15,000,  1722;  Thomas  Dayton, 
^'23,000,  and  John  Laroche,  ^'12,400,  1724;  Daniel 
Gale,  ^'5,600,  1725  ;  Captain  Robert  Cox,  ^8,100,  1727; 
Captain  Henry  Nicholas,  ^^20,000,  and  George  Smith, 
j^35,ooo,  1730;  John  Raven,  ^^3 1,800,  1734;  Andrew 
Allen,  ^^26,000,  1735,  the  Hon.  A.  Middleton,  ^25,000, 
1738;  Edward  Hext,  ^33,000,  1742;  Hon.  John  Colleton, 
^39,000,  1751  ;  and  Peter  Porcher,  ^22,800,  1754. 

Two  or  three  lists  of  the  possessions  of  people  of  various 
grades  of  prosperity  will  show  that  comfort  and  even  ele- 
gance were  by  no  means  elemental  in  these  early  years. 
Nathaniel  Wilkinson  in  171  i  left  a  personality  amount- 
^^S  ^^  £^ySS7~'^~^'     Among   his  household  goods  we  find 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


I  silver  tankard  28  oz  at  7/6     . 

lO-IO-O 

6  silver  spoons 

12  cane  chairs  and  couch    . 

3-15-0 

8-0-0 

I  large  cedar  table     . 

2-10-0 

2  small  ditto      .... 

1-0-0 

I  chest  of  drawers,  dressing  table  and 

glass 

7-0-0 

I  bed,  etc 

8-0-0 

I  pr  iron  dogs 

I  set  of  brasses  for  the  chimney 

I-O-O 
l-IO-O 

The  above  furniture,  if  scanty,  is  at  least  genteel. 
Other  inventories  of  this  period  by  no  means  reflect  the 
hardships  of  the  pioneer. 

Daniel  Gale  was  a  wealthier  planter,  his  personality 
being  valued  at  ^5,611-15-0  in  1725.  His  house  con- 
tained eight  rooms  in  addition  to  the  kitchen,  extension 
and  other  offices.  On  the  ground  floor  were  two  living- 
rooms  and  a  bedroom.  The  latter  contained  a  bed  and  its 
furnishings,  including  three  counterpanes  valued  at  j(^6o; 
a  chest  of  drawers  {£15)'*  ^  looking-glass  (£15)  I  six 
black  chairs  (^fi-io-o);  an  easy -chair  (^i-i  0-0) ;  a  table 
(five  shillings);  fire-irons,  etc.  (;f 5) ;  glass-  and  earthen- 
ware (j[i);  and  a  Bible  and  other  books  {£$)-  T^^^  room 
which  was  probably  the  dining-room  had  twelve  cane  chairs 
and  a  couch  valued  at  ;^2o;  a  corner  cupboard  (^^2) ;  a  tea- 
table  and  china  tea-set  (^^3);  fire-irons,  etc.  (^^4);  and  a 
small  chimney-piece  picture  (^^2).  In  another  downstairs 
room  stood  a  table  and  six  black  chairs  valued  at  ^^3-1 0-0; 
and  in  the  fourth  a  cedar  table  and  six  chairs  worth 
^^7-10-0.  In  one  of  the  upper  rooms  we  find  a  bed 
worth  jf  100;  two  looking-glasses,  one  valued  at  ^8  and 
the  larger  one  at;^35;  a  table,  eight  chairs,  two  arm-chairs 
and  a  couch  worth  jf  40 ;  a  bufl^et  and  chinaware  (^^  50) ; 


III 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

fire-irons  and  -dogs  (^'4)  ;  brass  and  irons  {^£2)  ;  and  a 
double  sliding  candlestick  (j[s).  Another  upstairs  room 
contains  a  bed  and  its  furniture  worth  j[6o ;  a  chest  of 
drawers  (;^2o);  eighteen  pairs  of  sheets  (^120);  a  table 
and  six  chairs  (^'12);  a  small  looking-glass  {j[2);  a  hand 
tea-table,  bowls  and  cups  (j£s)  i  ^^^^  fire-irons  (j[2).  In 
the  third  room  we  find  a  bed  worth  j^ioo;  a  table  and 
six  cane  chairs  valued  at  j[i2;  and  a  looking-glass  (j[s)' 
The  fourth  room  has  a  bedstead  with  its  furniture  worth 
j£4o;  twelve  leather  chairs  and  a  table  valued  at  j[iS'y 
two  pictures  (j[s)  ;  and  a  hammock  and  pavilion  (;^5).  A 
fifth  upstairs  room,  probably  a  garret,  contained  a  bedstead 
and  three  pavilions  (^32)  ;  a  cedar  table  (^^5)  ;  and  other 
household  goods. 

The  rooms  did  not  often  have  any  special  character  before 
1720,  though  the  bed  was  gradually  disappearing  from  the 
hall.  The  dining-room  and  the  sitting-room  were  much 
alike  in  the  arrangement  of  their  furniture,  and  the  sleep- 
ing-rooms much  resembled  them,  with  the  addition  of  a  bed. 
As  the  owner  was  usually  a  merchant  as  well  as  a  planter, 
one  of  the  lower  rooms  was  used  as  his  office. 

The  greater  part  of  this  furniture  was  brought  to 
Charleston  direct  from  England.  Charleston  had  "no  trade 
with  any  part  of  Europe  except  Great  Britain,  unless  our 
sending  rice  to  Lisbon  may  be  called  so,"  says  Governor 
Glen  in   1748. 

A  handsome  chair  of  the  early  part  of  the  century  is 
shown  on  page  113.  The  top  rail  is  carved  with  a  graceful 
design  of  the  bell-fiower  in  low  relief.  The  splat  is  open. 
The  legs  are  square.  This  chair  belonged  to  Lord  Dun- 
more,  the  last  colonial  governor  of  Virginia.  It  is  preserved 
in  the  house  of  the  Colonial  Dames,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and 
belongs    to    Miss    Elizabeth   Cary    Nicholas,   having   been 

£22 


DRESSING-GLASS  AND  CHEST  OF  DRAWERS 

S^e  page  i^6. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

purchased  by  her  ancestor  Judge  Philip  Norbonne  Nicholas 
at  the  sale  of  Lord   Dunmore's  effects. 

As  a  typical  example  of  a  comfortable  Marylander  in  1 7 1 8, 
we  may  take  Major  Josiah  Wilson,  of  Prince  George  County. 
His  personality  amounted  to  ^'1,178- 1  5-i>^  .  The  hall  con- 
tained only  ten  "  rushy  "  leather  chairs,  a  large  looking-glass,  a 


LORD    DUNMORE  S    CHAIR 

clock-case,  three  tin  sconces,  two  pairs  of  iron  dogs,  tongs  and 
shovels,  and  some  earthenware  "  on  the  mantle  press  and 
hanging  shelves." 

"In  the  parlour"  was  a  bed  with  its  furnishings,  a  chest 
of  drawers,  three  rush-bottomed  cane  chairs,  a  small  dress- 
ing-glass, fire-irons,  earthenware  on  the  mantelpiece,  and 
three  plain  trunks. 

"3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  dining-room  contained  eight  "rushy"  leather  chairs, 
three  small  tables,  a  broken  looking-glass,  a  dilapidated 
couch,  a  press,  a  pair  of  iron  dogs,  and  some  articles  on  the 
mantelpiece  and  hanging  shelves  valued  at  twelve  shillings. 

The  "  hall  chamber "  contained  four  rush-bottomed 
chairs,  a  chest  of  drawers  and  two  beds. 

**  In  the  porch  chamber  "  were  four  rush  and  one  cane 
chair,  a  bed  and  furniture,  a  looking-glass,  a  small  table  and 
a  sealskin  trunk. 

**  In  the  dining-room  chamber,"  twelve  rush-bottomed 
and  one  cane  chair,  a  bed  with  and  another  without  furni- 
ture, a  dressing-glass,  a  small  chest  of  drawers,  a  small  table, 
a  tea-table  and  earthenware  and  an  old  chest. 

"In  the  kitchen  chamber,"  two  feather  beds  and  fur- 
niture, two  old  flock  beds,  a  looking-glass,  a  small  chest  of 
drawers  and  a  pair  of  small  tongs  and  shovel. 

**In  the  milkhouse"  was  earthen-  and  tinware. 

"  In  the  kitchen  "  was  a  lot  of  pewter,  a  copper  and 
four  brass  kettles,  a  stew-pan  and  eleven  candlesticks  also  of 
brass,  eleven  small  chafing-dishes,  two  bell-metal  skillets, 
two  warming-pans,  two  brass  pestles  and  mortars,  a  bell- 
metal  mortar,  a  copper  pot,  a  jack,  five  spits,  three  box- 
irons,  two  gridirons,  two  pairs  of  tongs  and  shovels,  two 
dripping-pans,  one  frying-pan,  three  iron  pots,  two  small 
iron  kettles,  a  pair  of  irons  and  dogs,  five  pairs  of  pot-racks, 
a  parcel  of  books,  three  old  guns  and  a  hand-mill. 

The  household  linen  consisted  of  twelve  pairs  of  sheets  ; 
six  damask,  four  diaper  and  fifteen  huckaback  napkins;  five 
linen  pillow-cases  ;  four  towels ;  three  damask,  four  linen 
and  six  huckaback  table-cloths;  and  two  damask  table- 
covers. 

The    above    instance,    however,  is    not    fully   represen- 

114 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

tative  of  the  most  opulent  class  either  in  Maryland  or  Vir- 
ginia ;  for  there  were  many  of  the  landed  gentry  who  built 
fine  mansions  that  have  become  historic  and  a  few  of 
which  still  exist.  Hugh  Jones,  who  gave  his  impressions 
of  the  country  in  The  Present  State  of  Virginia  (London, 
1724),  says:  "The  Gentlemen's  Seats  are  of  late  built  for 
the  most  part  of  good  brick  and  many  of  timber,  very  hand- 
some, commodious,  and  capacious ;  and  likewise  the  com- 
mon planters  live  in  pretty  timber  houses,  neater  than  the 
farm-houses  are  generally  in  England:  with  timber  also 
are  built  houses  for  the  overseers  and  out-houses;  among 
which  is  the  kitchen  apart  from  the  dwelling-house,  be- 
cause of  the  smell  of  hot  victuals,  offensive  in  hot  weather." 

He  also  tells  us  that  goods  were  brought  to  the  colo- 
nies so  quickly  that  new  fashions  arrived  there  even  before 
they  were  received  in  the  English  country  houses  from 
London. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  century,  were  built  or  stand- 
ing such  famous  houses  as  Tuckahoe  (Randolph),  1710; 
Rosewe// (P2.ge)y  IVarner  Hall  (Lewis),  Rosegill [WovmQX^y)^ 
fVestover  (Byrd),  S Air  ley  (Carter),  Upper  Brandon  (Harri- 
son), Lower  Brandon  (Harrison),  Boiling  Hall  (Boiling), 
Curies  (Randolph),  Powhatan  s  Seat  (Mayo*,  Belvoir  (Fair- 
fax), Stratford  (Lee),  Doughreghan  Manor  (Carroll),  Coroto- 
man  (Carter),  Mount  Pleasant  (Lee),  Hampton  (Ridgeley), 
Brooklandwood  (Caton),  Wye  (Lloyd),  Mount  Airy  (Cal- 
vert), The  Hermitage  (Tilghman),  Belmont  (Hanson), 
My  Ladys  Manor  (Carroll),  Montville  (Aylett),  fVhite 
Marsh  (Tabb),  Montrose  (Marshall).  No  cost  or  care  was 
spared  to  render  their  interiors  comfortable  and  beautiful. 
Occasionally  an  early  visitor  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the 
apartments.     One  of  the  most  amusing  of  these  occurs  in 

"5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

William  Byrd's  Progress  to  the  Mines  (1732):  "Then 
I  came  into  the  main  country  road  that  leads  from  Freder- 
ickshurg  to  Germailna,  which  last  place  I  reached  in  ten 
miles  more.  This  famous  town  consists  of  Col.  Spots- 
wood's  enchanted  castle  on  one  side  of  the  street,  and  a 
baker's  dozen  of  ruinous  tenements  on  the  other,  where 
so  many  CJerman  families  had  dwelt  some  years  ago.  .  .  . 
Here  I  arrived  about  three  o'clock,  and  found  only  Mrs. 
Spotswood  at  home,  who  received  her  old  acquaintance 
with  many  a  gracious  smile.  I  was  taken  into  a  room 
elegantly  set  off  with  pier  glasses,  the  largest  of  which 
came  soon  after  to  an  odd  misfortune.  Amongst  other 
favourite  animals  that  cheered  this  lady's  solitude,  a  brace 
of  tame  deer  ran  familiarly  about  the  house,  and  one  of 
them  came  to  stare  at  me  as  a  stranger.  But  unluckily 
spying  his  own  figure  in  the  glass,  he  made  a  spring  over 
the  tea  table  that  stood  under  it,  and  shattered  the  glass  to 
pieces,  and  falling  back  upon  the  tea  table  made  a  terrible 
fracas  among  the  china.  This  exploit  was  so  sudden,  and 
accompanied  with  such  a  noise,  that  it  surprised  me,  and 
perfectly  frightened  Mrs.  Spotswood.  But  it  was  worth  all 
the  damage  to  show  the  moderation  and  good  humour  with 
which  she  bore  the  disaster." 

A  still  earlier  contemporary  picture  of  domestic  condi- 
tions occurs  in  the  Diary  ofjo/m  Fontaine^  quoted  in  the 
Virginia  Historical  Maga-zine  (1895).  After  a  visit  to 
Beverly   Parky  in   171  5,  Fontaine   writes: 

June  14th. — The  weather  was  very  bad,  and  rained 
hard.  We  were  very  kindly  received.  We  diverted 
ourselves  within  doors,  and  drank  very  heartily  of 
wine  of  his  own  making  which  was  good  ;  but  I  find 
by  the  taste  of  the  wine  that  he  did  not  understand 

116 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

how  to  make  it.  This  man  Hves  well ;  but  though 
rich,  he  has  nothing  in  or  about  his  house  but  what 
is  necessary.  He  hath  good  beds  in  his  house  but 
no  curtains  ;  and  instead  of  cane  chairs,  he  hath  stools 
made  of  wood.  He  lives  upon  the  product  of  his 
land. 

For  a  complete  view  of  the  contents  of  one  of  the 
great  houses  we  cannot  dt)  better  than  take  the  home  of 
Robert  Carter  at  Corotoman. 

"At  the  home  plantation:"  Seventeen  Black  Leather 
chairs,  and  two  ditto  stools,  one  large  Table  one  "  mid- 
dling ditto,"  and  one  small  table,  one  Black  walnut  Desk 
and  one  black  walnut  corner  cupboard  and  one  large 
looking-glass  are  found  in  the  "old  house  Dining-Room." 
In  the  Dining-Room  besides  china,  cx^pper  coffee-pots, 
candlesticks,  chafing-dishes  and  glasses,  there  is  mention  of 
one  "secrutore  and  one  Bark  Gamott  Table."  The 
"Chamber  over  the  Dining-Room"  is  supplied  with  "four 
feather-beds,  four  bolsters,  six  pillows,  four  ruggs,  one  quilt, 
three  prs  Blanketts,  one  pr  blew  chaney  curtains,  vallens, 
Teaster  and  head-piece,  one  pr  stamped  cotton  curtains, 
vallens,  teaster  and  headp",  one  square  Table,  two  high 
Bedsteads  and  one  Trundle  Bedstead,  three  cane  chairs, 
five  leather  chairs,  a  dressing-glass,  twelve  Bed  chaney  chair 
cushions,  one  pr  Iron  Doggs,  one  pr  Fire  tongs,  one 
shovel." 

In  the  lower  chamber  there  were  eleven  leather  chairs 
and  one  new  one,  four  cane  chairs  and  an  arm-chair. 

The  chamber  over  the  lower  chamber  contained  two 
high  bedsteads,  two  black- walnut  oval  tables,  large  and 
small,  a  dresvsing-glass,  five  cane  chairs  and  an  arm-chair, 
iron  dogs,  fire-tongs  and  shovel,  two  pairs  of  white  cotton 

117 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

window-curtains  and  valance.  Each  bedstead  was  furnished 
with  a  teaster;  one  had  white  cotton  curtains,  valance  and 
headpiece,  and  the  other  a  pair  of  "  blew  and  white  cotton 
and  linen  chex  and  vallens  and  white  linen  headpiece," 
while  there  were  two  feather-beds,  two  bolsters,  four  pil- 
lows, four  quilts,  four  blankets  and  two  rugs. 

The  porch  chamber  contained  a  feather-bed,  bolster, 
pillow,  quilt,  rug  and  a  blanket,  one  pair  "norch  cotton 
curtains  and  Vallens  lined  with  Searsucker  and  a  Searsucker 
headpiece  and  teaster,  six  blew  chaney  chairs,  one  do.  do. 
arm-chair." 

In  the  Brick  House  Chamber  we  find  one  standing  bed- 
stead and  one  trundle-bedstead,  six  sets  of  seersucker  bed- 
curtains,  two  bolsters,  three  pillows,  two  pairs  of  blankets 
and  two  quilts,  two  pairs  of  cotton  window-curtains,  a  large 
black-walnut  oval  table,  two  small  oval  tables,  "one  glass 
Japp'd  Scrutoire,  one  Jappan'd  square  small  table,  one 
India  Skreen,"  a  dressing-glass,  "five  blew  silk  Camlet 
chairs,"  one  large  looking-glass,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  chair 
with  a  red  leather  seat,  two  brass  candlesticks,  a  poker  and 
fire-shovel  and  a  pair  broken  andirons. 

In  the  chamber  over  the  lower  chamber  there  was  a 
feather-bed,  bolster,  pillow,  quilt  and  a  pair  of  blankets, 
a  trundle-bedstead,  a  desk,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  dressing- 
glass,  six  chairs  with  "red  leather  seats,  two  stools  with 
ditto,"  a  small  square  black-walnut  table,  "  a  small  oval 
ditto  with  red  velvet  on  top,"  and  one  pair  of  handirons. 

In  the  Brick  Store  there  was  a  black-walnut  book-case, 
and  in  the  "Chamber  over  ye  Brick  Store,"  "a  surveying 
instrument,  two  cane  chairs,  one  old  leather  ditto,  a  square 
table,  a  dressing-glass,  a  chest  of  drawers,  two  high  bed- 
steads, a  pair  searsucker  curtains,  vallens  and  head  cloths, 

ii8 


^v 


t— t 

< 
u 

Q 
< 

Q 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


DESK)    DRESSING    TABLE    AND    TWO    CHAIRS 
These  four  pieces  arc  from  Lafayette's  rot)m,  M.>unt  Vernon. 

one  pair  blew  and  white  cotton  chex  curtains  and  vallens, 
a  pr  stuff  curtains  and  vallens,  a  pr  stamped  cotton  cur- 
tains and  vallens  and  head  cloths,  and  a  pair  striped  cotton 
curtains  and  vallens." 

In  the  Brick  House  Loft  were  seven  trunks,  seven  old 
cane  chairs,  a  bedstead,  a  small  oval  card-table,  a  black 
leather  chair,  a  chair  with  a  Russia-leather  bottom,  a  nap- 
kin-press, a  chest  of  drawers,  a  parcel  of  lumber,  "a  red 
chaney  armchair,"  four  '*old  Turkey  workt  chairs,  two 
skreens,"  and  **a  large  oyle  cloth  to  lay  under  a  table." 

The  kitchen  had  a  full  share  of  utensils,  but  no  wooden 
furniture  is  mentioned. 

In  the  kitchen  loft  there  was  a  feather-bed,  with  bolster, 
pillow,  two  blankets,  rug  and  a  pair  of  canvas  sheets. 

On  this  page  are  shown  specimens  from  **  Lafayette's 
Room"  in  Mount  Vernon.      The  chair  on  the  right  is  a 

119 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

very  early  specimen  of  mahogany,  with  plain  square  legs 
and  straining-rails  and  peculiarly  curved  back  and  unpierced 
splat.  The  rockers  are  probably  later  additions.  The 
mahogany  desk  and  letter-case  was  a  favorite  form  about 
the  middle  of  the  century.  One  advantage  of  this  form 
was  that  it  could  be  placed  near  the  fire  so  that  the  writer 
might  enjoy  the  warmth  and  be  screened  at  the  same  time. 
The  mahogany  dressing-table  on  slender  legs,  with  three 
tiers  of  drawers  and  looking-glass,  is  rather  later  in  date. 
The  painted  chair  is  still  later. 

We  have  already  seen  how  extremely  bare  were  the 
houses  of  the  artisan  class  in  the  early  days  of  the  South. 
On  examining  many  of  the  inventories  we  are  forcibly 
reminded   of  Mr.  Lear's  lines: 

"  In  the  middle  of  the  woods 
Lived  the  Tonghy-Bonghy-Bo. 
One  old  chair  and  half  a  candle. 
One  old  jug  without  a  handle, 
In  the  middle  of  the  woods — 
These  were  all  the  worldly  goods 
Of  the  Tonghy-Bonghy-Bo." 

Some  authorities  maintain  that  the  lists  of  the  deceased's 
effects  were  not  exhaustive;  but  if  that  is  so,  we  may  ask 
why  they  were,  drawn  up  at  all.  They  would  be  valueless 
unless  complete.  Moreover,  we  have  evidence  that  the 
appraisers  usually  did  their  work  with  scrupulous  fidelity. 
At  the  period  when  it  was  unusual  for  the  windows  to  be 
glazed,  the  panes  of  glass  were  measured  and  appraised. 
Articles  of  quite  contemptible  value,  also,  are  frequently 
mentioned.  "A  sorry  covelid"  and  **a  parcel  of  old 
trumpery  "  are  common  items.  An  extreme  example 
occurs  among  the  possessions  of  George  Rayes,  1699.     The 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

appraisers  could  scarcely  have  been  serious  when  they 
recorded  **  i   night  cap  nothing  worth  oo-oo-oo." 

In  Thomas  (Jadsden's  inventory  (1745)  "an  old  cane 
black  leather  chair  worth  nothing  "  occurs. 

Our  forefathers  regarded  their  belongings  with  much 
affection;  evidently  the  sentimental  is  far  above  the  intrinsic 
value.  In  large  families  the  household  goods  would  often 
be  almost  entirely  distributed  among  the  children  by  specific 
legacies  on  the  death  of  the  owner.  Nevertheless,  when 
the  younger  generation  bought  furniture  it  would  naturally 
be  of  the  newest  fashion,  since  anything  old,  not  being  a 
bequest,  was  regarded  with  disfavour.  An  **  old  fashion  " 
piece  stood  on  the  same  level  with  one  "damnified,"  and 
in  the  inventories  is  so  recorded  and  reduced  in  value. 

T.  Gadsden,  1741,  has  one  "old  fashion  case  of  drawers 
inlaid  with  ivory,  j[i."  In  the  same  inventory  ^^'i  is  the 
stated  value  of  two  Windsor  chairs  ;  of  two  straw-bottomed 
chairs  and  one  old  napkin  ;  of  two  sconce-arms,  and  of  a 
bottle  of  Rhenish  wine,  respectively  —  which  gives  us  some 
idea  of  the  appraiser's  lack  of  veneration  for  age. 

We  have  already  seen  how  a  rich  planter  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  took  his  silver  plate  to  London  to  have  it 
melted  down  and  made  up  again  in  the  latest  fashion. 
This  difference  in  value  between  old  and  new  is  constantly 
in  evidence.  Thomas  Gadsden,  cited  above,  possessed 
"163  oz  old  plate,  ^^"326  ;  282^  oz  fashionable  do., 
^^776-17-6;  I  tea  kettle  stand  and  lamp  67*/^  oz,  ^'202- 
10-0;  2  canisters  and  sugar  dish  29  oz,  ^"72-10-0."  The 
difference  in  value  between  the  articles  of  the  last  two 
items  might  be  due  to  the  workmanship;  but  an  arbitrary 
difference  of  about  $3.75  per  ounce  between  "old"  and 
"fashionable"  plate  is  very  considerable. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  rage  for  the  new  partly  accounts  for  the  strange 
medley  of  styles  and  periods  with  which  the  homes  were 
filled.  As  time  passed  on,  the  old  furniture  fell  into  decay, 
and,  not  being  cherished,  was  relegated  to  the  garret,  the 
kitchen  or  the  slaves'  quarters,  and  the  new  reigned  in  its 
stead.  It  naturally  follows  that  even  if  the  South  had  not 
suffered  so  terribly  in  the  Revolutionary  and  Civil  wars 
from  incendiarism,  we  should  still  expect  to  find  specimens 
of  seventeenth-century  and  early  eighteenth-century  furni- 
ture exceedingly  scarce.  The  same  process  occurred  in 
England.  When  an  exhibition  of  seventeenth-century  furni- 
ture was  in  preparation  in  London  a  few  years  ago,  very 
few  specimens  were  discoverable  in  the  ancient  mansions 
and  castles.  It  was  in  the  cottages  of  the  adjoining  villages 
that  many  of  the  forgotten  and  despised  tables,  chairs, 
chests,  etc.,  were  found. 

Any  relic  from  the  home  of  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
Revolution  is  regarded  with  affectionate  and  pious  reverence 
by  his  descendants.  The  mahogany  secretary  and  chair 
facing  this  page  are  characteristic  specimens  of  furniture  of 
the  period.  The  two  jar-shaped  splats  and  plain  square  legs 
are  found  in  many  examples  of  the  cornered  chair.  The 
secretary  is  quite  simple  and  unornamented.  Both  chair  and 
desk  belonged  to  Patrick  Henry,  whose  bust  stands  on  the 
desk,  which  still  contains  many  of  his  papers.  He  died  at 
Red  Hill^  while  sitting  in  this  chair,  in  1799.  Both 
pieces  are  owned  by  his  grandson,  Mr.  William  Wirt 
Henry,  of  Richmond,  V^a. 

As  a  rule  the  appraisers  are  content  to  mention  the 
number  of  articles  and  the  materials  of  which  they  are 
composed,  adding  the  shape  in  the  case  of  tables;  but  now 
and  again  we  come  across  a  stray  detail  of  description  for 


THE   FURNITURE   OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

which  we  are  grateful.  When  this  is  the  case,  it  is  prob- 
ably because  the  fashion  is  new,  or  at  least  novel,  to  the 
appraiser.  Thus  when  Maurice  Lewis  is  found  with  "  a 
small  desk  and  drawer  on  casters,  ^^8,"  we  may  conclude 
that  casters  were  not  yet  common  on  furniture  legs,  and, 
indeed,  this  is  the  first  instance  I  have  found  in  South 
Carolina.      Another   instance  of  this   kind   is  the  claw-foot 


FOUR    INTERESTING    CHAIRS 

Chain  in  the  River  Ruom,  Mount  Vernun.     The  one  next  to  the  extreme  right  belonged  to 
Benjamin  Franklin. 

and  ball,  which  probably  came  from  the  East  through  the 
Dutch.  It  would  be  sure  to  excite  remark,  but  I  have 
not  found  it  in  South  Carolina  before  1740,  when  Eliza- 
beth Greene  has  a  **  claw-foot  mahogany  table,  ^^4."  The 
Chippendale  period  is  but   just   beginning. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  inquire  how  close  the  ap- 
praisal was  to  the  value  of  the  articles  when  sold  by  public 
auction,  and  the  reply  is  that  there  was  not  that  woful  gap 
between  price  and  value  that  saddens  the  householder  to- 
day when  his  possessions  are  brought  to  the  hammer.  The 
records  of  South  Carolina  in   1747  show  that  the  mahogany 

"3 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

furniture  of  Sarah  Saxby  brought  more  than  the  appraisers 
thought  it  was  worth.     The  two  Usts  are  worth  preserving. 


Public 

Appraisal 

Vendue 

i     s.    d. 

£  s.  d. 

1  India  cabinet  frame 

I o-o-o 

24-0-0 

I  cedar  dressing  table  and  glass 

I o-o-o 

f  1-7-6 
I  7-5-0 

1  small  mahogany  table 

4-10-0 

8-0-0 

I  mahogany  dressing  table  and 
glass        .... 

15-0-0 

20-2-6 

I  mahogany  dressing  table  and 

glass    .    . 

12-0-0 

15-15-0 

I  large  mahogany  table 

12-0-0 

15-0-0 

I  small      do            do 

5-0-0 

7-10-0 

I  mahogany  couch 

5-0-0 

17-5-0 

I  bed  etc. 

30-0-0 

40-15-0 

I      do         ...          . 

20-0-0 

40—0-0 

I  mahogany  sideboard 

7-0-0 

8-10-0 

I  mahogany  corner  cupboard 

3-0-0 

4-12-6 

1 1    old   chairs,  matted   bottoms 
and  1  easy  leather  chair 

I 0-0-0 

I  6-5-0 
\  5-7-6 

On  page  123  are  shown  chairs  from  the  "  River  Room'* 
at  Mount  Vernon.  The  chair  on  the  right  is  an  early  ex- 
ample of  mahogany  of  the  Chippendale  school  with  ob- 
vious Dutch  influence.  It  was  in  President  Washington's 
house  in  Philadelphia,  and  is  a  good  type  of  many  chairs  in 
use  before  the  Revolution.  The  chair  next  to  it  belonged 
to  Benjamin  Franklin.  It  is  rush-bottomed  and  the  sup- 
ports of  the  low  arms  being  set  at  diagonal  corners  gives  it 
the  effect  of  a  three-cornered  chair.  The  front  leg  is 
square  and  the  three  others  turned ;  the  straining-rails  cross 
each  other  diagonally.      The  two  jar-shaped  splats  in  the 


124 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

back  are  perforated.     This  style  is  not  at  all  uncommon.     One 
in  possession  of  Patrick  Henry  is  shown  facing  page  122. 

The  third  chair  also  belongs  to  this  period.  The  ele- 
gance of  the  lines  and  the  careful  distribution  of  light 
and  dark  in  the  jar-shaped  splat  and  outside  space  bounded 
by  the  frame  show  the  hand  of  an  artist  of  the  Chippen- 
dale school.  The  cabriole  leg,  with  eagle  claw  and  ball 
foot,  is  less  squat  than  usual ;  the  common  shell  ornament 
appears  on  the  knee.  The  fourth  chair  is  a  Hepplewhite  of 
later  date. 

Some  of  the  houses  of  the  middle  of  the  century  con- 
tained a  generous  supply  of  china,  glass  and  plate.  The 
inventory  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  Joseph  Wragg,  Esq., 
although  the  total  is  only  ^^2, 908- 17-6,  shows  an  aston- 
ishing quantity  of  tableware  of  all  kinds,  including  561 
ounces  three  pennyweights  of  silver  plate  worth  ^'1,139-1- 
6  ;  three  dozen  knives  and  forks,  j^'71 ;  twenty-five  enam- 
elled china  bowls,  ^^27-1  5-0;  six  flowered  ditto,  ^('0-15-0; 
five  blue-and-white  soup-dishes,  ^^8 ;  five  other  small 
blue-and-white  dishes,  ^'5-10-0;  two  small  enamelled 
dishes,  ;f  3  ;  one  small  blue-and-white  ditto,  ^'0-15-0; 
forty-eight  enamelled  soup-plates,  ^^20;  fifteen  blue-and- 
white  ditto,  JC6 ;  seventeen  butter-saucers,  £2 ;  coffee 
and  tea  china  set,  ^^5 ;  a  china  jar,  ^^i  ;  three  sugar-dishes, 
^3  ;  a  china  mug,  £i  ;  three  dishes,  j^ i - 1  5  ;  seven  plates, 
£\-\o\  "  Delf  ware,"  ^^8 ;  two  pairs  of  port  decanters 
with  ground  stoppers,  ^{'3;  six  water-glasses,  ^'0-15-0; 
forty-two  tumblers,  ^'3;  132  jelly-  and  syllabub-glasses, 
jf  5  ;  ninety-six  patty-pans,  £2;  twenty-three  knives  and 
forks,  ^'5 ;  seventy-two  pewter  plates  and  thirteen  dishes, 
^^40;  104  wine-glasses,  ^10;  mustard-pots,  salts,  cruets, 
tea-kettle,  beer-glasses,  etc.,  ^'14-5-0.      In  addition  to  this 

125 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

he  had   much    table-linen,  including    114  damask  napkins 
and  eighteen  diaper  table-cloths. 

As  illustrations  of  these  dining-room  appointments  we 
cannot  do  better  than  take  the  wine-cooler,  whiskey-bottle 
and  dumb-waiter,  silver  cream-jug  on  a  silver  salver,  copper 
tea-urn  and  wine-cup  of  Mr.  Thomas  Boiling,  Richmond. 
The  wine-cooler  dates  from  the  very  end  of  our  period  ; 
it  is  of  mahogany,  brass-bound,  and  inlaid  with  satinwood. 
The  bottle  standing  upon  it,  with  a  corn-cob  stopper,  has 
"Boiling,  Cobbs  1772"  blown  in  the  glass.  Both  articles 
came  from  Cobbs^  Virginia,  the  residence  of  Thomas  Boi- 
ling, a  direct  ancestor  of  the  present  owner.  The  dumb- 
waiter comes  from  Montville^  Virginia,  the  home  of  the 
Ayletts.  The  wine-cup  is  a  piece  of  the  old  Randolph  silver 
and  bears  their  coat  of  arms  and  crest.  The  cream-jug, 
silver  salver  and  copper  urn  belonged  to  the  Boiling  family. 

One  diversion  of  the  planter's  life  was  gambling.  In 
contemporary  letters,  the  propensity  of  the  ladies  of 
the  family  to  spend  their  days  and  nights  playing  loo  is 
probably  overdrawn ;  but  we  have  ample  evidence  of  the 
excess  to  which  playing  was  carried  among  the  men. 
Bowls,  shuffle-board,  chess  and  cards  were  largely  in- 
dulged in  during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the  efforts  of 
the  authorities  to  suppress  gambling  were  futile.  De  Vries, 
an  old  Dutch  captain  who  visited  Jamestown  in  1633, 
was  astonished  at  finding  the  planters  inveterate  gamblers, 
even  staking  their  servants.  In  his  righteous  indignation 
he  protested  he  had  **  never  seen  such  work  in  Turkey  or 
Barbery."  The  chief  games  were  piquet,  trump,  lanterloo, 
ombre,  hazard,  basset,  faro  and  ecarte.  Early  in  the 
eighteenth  century  special  tables  were  constructed  for  card 
games ;    those  for  ombre  were  sometimes    three-cornered, 

ia6 


I  M"^ 


THREE    MAHOGANY    PIECES 

Eighteenth-century  spoon-case,  knife-box  and  teacaJJy.      OzuneJ  by  Mrs.  EJiuard  fFillis,  oj"  Charleston,  S.  C. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

though  the  game  allowed  three,  four  or  five  players.    They 
were  often  covered  with  green  cloth. 

An  early  and  handsome  mahogany  card-table  facing  page 
1 1 8,  divides  diagonally.  The  legs  are  rounded  and  straight, 
terminating  in  bird's  claw  and  ball  feet.  The  casters  were 
probably  added  later.  One  leg  draws  out  as  a  support  for 
the  leaf  when  raised.  The  chairs  are  of  considerably  later 
date,  from  Belleville.  These  specimens  are  owned  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  George  W.  Mayo,  Richmond,  Va. 

In  1 741  T.  Gadsden  (South  Carolina)  had  a  card-table 
covered  with  sealskin  valued  at  ^'7-10-0.  Many  of  the 
card-tables  of  the  early  eighteenth  century,  however,  have 
plain  polished  surfaces.  They  usually  have  a  folding  top  on 
a  hinge,  with  a  leg  to  draw  out,  such  as  the  one  facing  page 
118.  In  many  cases  there  is  one  pool  or  hollow  at  each 
corner  for  counters,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  table  belong- 
ing to  Dr.  Brinton  on  page  108.  In  1727,  we  find  "a 
parcel  ot  fish  and  counters,  jf  4."  The  fish  were  of  bone, 
ivory  or  mother-of-pearl,  and  the  counters  were  round 
or  oval.  In  ombre  a  fish  was  worth  ten  round  counters. 
The  card-tables  brought  into  the  South  were  quite  expen- 
sive. If  we  look  at  a  few  examples  from  South  Carolina, 
we  find  one  belonging  to  S.  Pickering  in  1728  valued  at 
£6 :  a  sum  equal  to  that  of  three  Dutch  tables  and  a  couch 
and  squab  combined  in  the  same  inventory.  Other  instances 
are:  a  fine  walnut  card-table,  j^2o;  a  walnut  do.,  £j; 
a  card-table,  ;^*io;  ditto,  ^^'6-1 0-0;  a  black  frame  ditto, 
;^2-io-o;  and  many  others  from  ^i  up.  Dr.  J.  Gaultier 
possessed  one  quadrille-table  (^^8),  in  1746.  Quadrille 
succeeded  ombre  in  fashionable  favour ;  it  was  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  old  game  that  was  supreme  during  the  reigns 
of  Anne  and  the  first  George. 

127 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Other  games  existed  in  the  South  at  an  early  date,  for 
in  1727  we  tind  a  shuffle-board  table  and  eight  pieces  worth 
j^'3-10-0;  in  1733  J.  Main,  of  South  Carolina,  owns  a  pair 
of  backgammon-tables  valued  at  ^8  and  a  truck-table,  sticks 
and  balls,  worth  no  less  than  ^^90.  The  latter  was  a 
favourite  old  English  game  known  as  "lawn  billiards,"  but 
its  name  was  originally  Spanish, —  trucos  or  troco.  In  the 
centre  of  the  green  there  was  an  iron  ring  moving  on  a 
pivot,  and  the  object  was  to  drive  the  ball  through  the 
ring.  Backgammon-boards  or  -tables  and  checker-boards 
were  very  popular.  To  take  a  few  early  examples:  J. 
Lewis  had  a  madeira-table  with  "baggamon"  tables  worth 
^'15  in  1733;  T.  Somerville,  two  backgammon-tables 
(j^ii)  in  1734;  T.  Gadsden  a  backgammon-board  (;^4) 
in  1741  ;  and  in  1744  we  find  two  checker-boards  valued  at 
£\.  A  Mississippi  board  also  shows  that  this  form  of 
bagatelle  was  known  quite  early. 

Thus  we  are  satisfied  that  the  daughters  of  Virginia  and 
her  sister  colonies  were  by  no  means  forced  to  dwell 

"  In  some  lone  isU^  or  distant  Northern  land^ 
IVhere  the  gilt  chariot  never  marks  the  way^ 
Where  none  learn  ombre ^  none  e^er  taste  Bohea." 

Whether  the  ladies  of  the  South  drank  much  wine  or 
not,  they  certainly  drank  a  great  deal  of  tea.  Coffee  and 
chocolate  also  were  favourite  fashionable  beverages.  The 
tea-table,  and  often  more  than  one,  stood  in  most  parlours. 
It  was  smaller  than  the  ordinary  table  and  existed  in  all 
woods  and  shapes.  The  tea-service  was  always  in  readiness 
upon  it.  The  table  was  generally  covered  with  a  small 
cloth  or  "  toilet."  The  earliest  examples  seem  to  be  the 
Dutch  and  japanned  tables.     The  following  are  from  South 

128 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Carolina:  A  japanned  hand  tea-table  {j[i)t  1722;  two 
japanned  tea-tables  (;i4),  a  small  square  ditto  (j[i),  and  a 
little  round  oak  ditto  (j^'o-io-o),  1723;  a  tea-table  and 
china  tea-set  (^^15),  1724;  a  hand  tea-table  with  bowls 
and  cups  {j[s}*  ^7^5  y  ♦^  parcel  of  tea-table  ware  (j^'14), 
1732;  a  tea-equipage 
(^*4),  and  two  tea- 
tables  with  two  toilets 

(/i5)»  17335  a  round 
three-legged  tea-table 
(j^io),  1738;  a  Dutch 
ditto  (j^'i-io-o),  1740; 
a  tea-table,  china,  a  jar 
and  stand  (j^'io),  1741  ; 
a  japanned  tea-table 
with  tea-service  thereon 
(jf8),  and  a  tea-table 
and  china  (^^lo),  1742  ; 
a  mahogany  tea-table 
(/6),  1745  ;  one  ditto 
and  tea-board  (£5) ;  an 
oval  stand  tea-table 
(j[2);  a  madeira  round 

tea-table  (^^6);  and  an  India  tea-table  (^f  12),  1746  ;  a  ma- 
hogany pedestal  tea-table  (j[())y  1754.  In  1725,  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Crook  owned  a  tea-table,  forty-one  dishes  with  saucers, 
and  three  basins,  all  china  (^^3^^  '"  many  Southern 
houses  these  dishes,  which  are  simple  little  bowls  or  cups 
without  handles,  have  been  preserved. 

Other  articles  connected  with  the  preparation  and  ser- 
vice of  tea  are  a  mahogany  tea-box  (jCyio-o)^  1736;  a 
japanned  tea-box  with   canisters  (^^3),  four  mahogany  tea- 

129 


WINDSOR    ARM-CHAIR 

Arm-chair  of  a  pattern  introduced  into  America  as  early 
4S  1770,  and  fuUuwed  many  years  without  change  j  exact 
date  uncertain. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

boards  (^^'i-i  o-o) ;  a  silver  tea-kettle  stand  and  lamp,  weigh- 
ing 67^  ounces  (^'202-10-0) ;  a  shagreen  tea-chest  with  two 
canisters  and  sugar-dish,  29  ounces  (^{'72-10-0)  ;  and  a  sha- 
green small  case,  twelve  tea-spoons,  a  strainer  and  tongs 
(j^io),  and  a  silver  tea-kettle(^5o),  1742;  a  tea-chest  and 
tea-board  (j[s)y  ^744  >  ^  mahogany  tea-tray  (^0-18-4), 
and  two  japanned  ditto  (j^'o-6-8),  1745;  a  mahogany  tea- 
chest  (^2-10-0),  two  japanned  tea-boards  (^{"i-io-o),  a  ma- 
hogany tea-chest  (^^i ),  a  large  painted  sugar-box  (^i-io-o), 
and  two  mahogany  tea-boards  (^3-10-0),  1746;  and  a  tea- 
kettle and  lamp  on  a  mahogany  stand  (X^)»  ^75^-  ^^ 
this  date  we  are  getting  into  the  Chippendale  period,  when 
tea-chests,  tea-trays,  tables,  etc.,  receive  considerable  atten- 
tion from  the  famous  cabinet-makers. 

It  was  the  correct  thing  to  make  the  tea  at  the  table,  as 
the  spirit-lamps  show.  The  coffee,  also,  was  frequently 
ground  as  well  as  infused  at  the  table. 

The  taste  for  china  was  as  universal  in  the  South  as  that 
for  ombre  and  madeira.  In  1722  Edward  Arden  possessed 
a  cabinet  and  chinaware  together  worth  ;^io;  also  a  corner 
cupboard  containing  china,  and  two  tea-tables  (^16);  then 
we  have  buffet  and  chinaware  (^^50),  D.  Gale,  1725;  china 
and  glass  (^'5  5),  ditto  on  the  scrutore  (^'15),  Hon.  A.  Mid- 
dleton,  1738;  "china  and  glass  in  ye  buffet"  (£^),  A. 
Skeene,  1741.  In  1744,  moreover,  T.  Oliver  possesses  a 
china-table  (^^6).  We  frequently  come  across  china  on 
the  mantelpiece  also,  so  that  by  the  aid  of  the  latter,  cabi- 
nets, tea-tables,  china-tables,  corner  cupboards  and  buffets, 
the  rooms  were  pretty  liberally  sprinkled  with  var'ieties  of 
porcelain.  That  these  were  not  merely  intended  for  use  is 
plain  from  many  entries,  a  typical  one  of  which  is  "  a  parcel  of 
glass  images,  toys,  etc."  (^i-i 0-0),  Anne  Le  Brasseur,  1742. 

130 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


This  forcibly  reminds  us 
of  the  china  monstrosities 
satirised  in  Hogarth's  pic- 
tures of  high  life. 

The  china  services 
were  often  quite  expen- 
sive. In  1733  J.  Lewis 
has  *'  china  ware"  (;^32), 
and  J.  Satur's  nine  china 
plates  are  appraised  at 
j^4-io.  Anne  Le  Bras- 
seur  (1742)  has  a  large 
variety  of  china,  including 
among  other  articles  two 
large  china  dishes,  ^^4; 
one  large  china  bowl,  ^^'4 ; 
a  mahogany  waiter  with 
chinaware    thereon,     ^'2. 

The  china,  glass  and 
earthenware  belonging  to  ... 

^       ^  From  Wathington  s  presidential  maiuion — a  duplicate 

T.    Gadsden     amounted     to      »   «   '*»«    Hiitoncal   society   of    Pennsylvania.       See 

page  89. 

j^' 1 67- 1 -8;   he  also  owned 

two  baskets  for  china  plates,  valued  at  ten  shillings.  J.  Mat- 
thews (1744)  had  china  and  glass  worth  j[^6;  he  also  had 
six  hot-water  plates,  valued  at  ^{'8  ;  the  latter  were  evidently 
comparatively  new.  Six  years  before  this  Edward  Hext 
had  owned  the  same  number,  then  valued  at  j^' 10,  which 
was  the  same  price  attributed  to  his  dressing-table  and 
glass,  or  his  tea-table  and  china,  in  the  same  inventory. 

The  plate,  glass,  cutlery,  earthenware  and  all  articles 
for  use  at  meals  show  constantly  increasing  elegance  as  the 
century  advances.      Forks  were  coming  into  more  general 

131 


CHAIR 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

use  about  1700,  and  the  choice  kinds  of  knives  as  well  as 
forks  and  spoons  had  handles  of  agate,  silver  and  ivory.  A 
few  examples  may  be  given  of  the  amount  of  silver  plate  listed 
as  "various,"  the  number  of  ounces  being  usually  stated.  T. 
Grimball,  j^'240-io-o,  1722;  T.  Rose,  ^^208,  1733;  T. 
Somerville,  jCsS^y  ^734'  ^-  Leacroft,  ^^100,  1738;  E. 
Greene,  ^^336,  1740;  T.  Gadsden,  ^^  1,1 02-1 7-6,  1741  ; 
N.  Serre,  ^^'5 5 2-6-6,  1746;  G.  Heskett,  ^^292-1 0-0;  E. 
Fowler,  ^^131-5-0;  and  the  Hon.  J.  Colleton,  ^929-10-0, 
1751. 

In  Virginia  and  Maryland  also  the  tables  of  the  wealthy 
were  bright  with  silver.  Samuel  Chew,  of  Ann  Arundel 
County,  whose  personal  estate  in  171 8  was  valued  at 
j^'7,225-14-5,  possessed  "new  plate,  ^63-1-10,  old  plate, 
^'235-6-0."  In  1728  Colonel  Thomas  Lee's  house  was 
robbed  and  burned,  and  the  following  advertisement  in 
the  Maryland  Gazette,  March  11,  1728,  gives  some  idea  of 
his  family  plate.  This  plate  had  on  it  the  coat  of  arms  or 
crest  belonging  to  the  name  of  Lee. 

**  Stolen  out  of  the  house  of  Col.  Thomas  Lee,  in  Vir- 
ginia (some  time  before  it  was  burnt),  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  valuable  plate,  viz..  Two  Caudle  Cups,  three  pints 
each.  One  chocolate  pot,  one  coffee  pot.  One  Tea  pot. 
Three  Castors,  Four  Salts.  A  plate  with  the  Cortius  arms. 
A  pint  tumbler,  ditto  arms.  Four  candlesticks.  One  or  two 
pint  cans.  A  funnel  for  quart  bottles,  no  arms  on  it. 
A   pair   of  snuffers  and  stand,   etc." 

The  growing  use  of  forks  does  not  seem  to  have  less- 
ened the  necessity  of  napkins,  which  in  the  better  class 
of  houses  were  of  damask  and  diaper,  as  were  also  the 
table-cloths.  Damask  was  the  most  expensive.  Huckaback 
and  coarse  linen  napkins  were  also  largely  used.      In  South 

133 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Carolina  we  find  Mary  MulHns(i73o)  with  a  damask  table- 
cloth, £'jy  and  two  table-cloths  and  twenty-four  napkins, 
^^'36.  The  high  price  set  on  table-linen  is  more  fully 
realized  when  we  compare  the  above  with  one  dozen 
leather-bottom  chairs,  ^^15,  in  the  same  inventory.  Two 
years  later  S.  Screven's  nine  table-cloths  and  thirty  napkins 
are  esteemed  of  equal  value  with  his  four  tables,  ten  chairs, 
one  chest  and  one  looking-glass,  ^^25-15-0.  T.  Gadsden 
(1741)  had  table-linen  appraised  at  j^'68-2-6;  and  J. 
Matthews  (1745)  at  ^^72. 

The  shagreen  cases  in  which  the  fine  cutlery  was  kept 
were  boxes,  square  or  rounded  in  the  front,  about  a  foot 
high,  with  a  lid  sloping  down  toward  the  front.  The  in- 
terior was  divided  into  as  many  little  square  partitions  as 
there  were  articles  to  be  contained ;  into  these  the  knives  were 
put,  handles  up.  The  spoons  were  placed  with  the  bowls 
up.  Thus,  rising  one  row  above  another  on  the  slope,  the 
chasing  or  other  ornamentation  was  well  displayed.  The 
boxes  were  placed  usually  at  each  end  of  the  sideboard- 
table  or  buffet,  and  the  lids,  of  course,  were  left  open  when 
required,  for  often  the  open  lids  acted  as  rests  for  silver  salvers. 
The  shagreen  cases,  of  course,  took  their  name  from  the 
leather  with  which  they  were  covered.  They  gradually 
became  more  ornate,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  century 
the  more  expensive  kinds  were  made  of  mahogany.  In 
South  Carolina  a  "mahogany  knife-box"  occurs  in  1754. 
This  is  probably  a  production  of  the  Chippendale  school. 
The  amount  of  time  and  labour  expended  on  the  finest 
specimens  was  prodigious.  The  boxes  were  carved,  inlaid, 
and  some  had  metal  mountings.  The  great  difficulties  to 
be  overcome  consisted  in  the  curves  to  which  the  veneers 
and  inlays  had  to  be  subjected,  thus  demanding  considerable 

m 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

mathematical  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  workman. 
This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  urn-shaped  cases  which 
follow  this  period. 

Interesting  specimens  of  the  mahogany  spoon-cases, 
tea-chest  with  caddies  and  knife-boxes,  at  the  close  of 
this  period  are  owned  by  Mrs.  Edward  Willis  of  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  and  are  shown  in  the  plate  facing  page  1 30. 
The  tea-chest  has  brass  feet  and  mounts.  The  spoon- 
case  is  a  very  interesting  specimen  ;  it  stands  about  two 
feet  high,  and  there  is  a  delicate  black-and-yellow  in- 
lay running  along  the  separate  pieces  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed. It  is  mounted  with  silver.  The  knife-box  has 
also  metal  mounts,  and  the  mouldings  of  the  front  show 
what  careful  workmanship  was  demanded. 

The  sideboard-table,  commonly  used  down  to  the 
Revolution,  was  simply  a  side-table.  One  of  these,  in- 
herited from  Lawrence  Washington,  was  in  the  dining- 
room  at  Mount  Vernon  It  stood  thirty-six  inches  high,  and 
was  five  feet  long  and  half  as  wide.  It  was  made  of  black- 
walnut,  with  the  edges  and  legs  carved  with  the  bell-flower 
and  leaf  ornamentation.  In  South  Carolina,  instances  occur 
in  several  varieties  of  wood,  cedar,  "madera,"  walnut  and 
mahogany,  worth  from  ^^'6  to  ^20,  sometimes  with  and 
sometimes  without  drawers.  The  table  was  usually  oblong, 
but  occasionallv  square.  The  "beaufait"  or  buffet  also  is 
frequently  mentioned.  In  1752  Paul  Tenys  had  a  mahog- 
any bufl^et,  ;^  20  ;  china  in  and  on  it,  j^  25.  The  bufl^et 
gradually  supplanted  the  sideboard,  and  finally  stole  its 
name.  The  sideboard  was  covered  with  a  cloth  of  damask 
or  diaper,  and  occasionally  we  find  mention  of  other  ma- 
terial. R.  Wright  (1747)  had  a  "mahogany  sideboard  with 
green  cover." 

134 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Turning  to  the  chairs,  we  first  rind  cane  in  all  varieties. 
Some  of  these  had  wooden  frames  with  cane  in  the  seat,  or 
back,  or  both.  Others  were  evidently  constructed  of  cane 
throughout.  The  prices  varied  surprisingly,  evidently  ac- 
cording to  the  carving  and  turning  of  the  frames,  as  well  as 
the  age,  condition,  styles  and 
sizes.  In  171  i,  twelve  cane 
chairs  and  couch  are  appraised 
at  j[S.  Josiah  Wilson  (Mary- 
land) had  three  old  rush-bot- 
tomed cane  chairs  appraised  at 
thirteen  shillings  in  171  8.  In 
the  same  year  we  find  six  cane 
chairs,  "eighteen  shillings," 
four  cane  ditto,  jf 2-4-0.  In 
Carolina  we  have  six  cane, 
j^'i-io-o;  six  cane,  j[6-o-o 
(1722);  six  black  cane  and 
one  elbow,  ^^14  (1723); 
twelve  fine  cane  and  elbow, 
£25  (^724);  eight  cane  with 
two  cushions,  ^^  i  5 ;  and  four- 
teen cane,  ;(,30  (1725). 

Two  years  later,  four  black 
cane  and  u..^  ^Ibow  chair  are    ^  chair  owned  by  wiluam  penn 

I  I         .•  .  ,  •        i>     1  Sovi  in  the  Penntylvauiia  Hospital,  Fhiladd- 

worth  only  ^,5.     Captain  Rob-    phu.    seepage (4. 

ert  Cox   in  the  same  year  had 

twenty  old   cane  chairs  at  a  pound  each,   and  twelve  new 

ones  at  thirty  shillings.      Major  William  Blazeway,  also  in 

1727,  had  six  cane-back,  j(,i2;   six  cane-bottom,  ;iio;  six 

with    hue   rush    bottoms,    ^.10;     and  nine   old  cane,  j[^g. 

Twelve    new   cane,    ;^i8,   six    cane-back,   j^io,    six  cane- 

•35 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bottom  wooden-back,  ^  i  o,  also  occur  in  1727;  and,  choicest 
of  all,  twelve  walnut  cane  chairs  and  elbow  chair,  ^50 
( 1 73 1 ).  The  prices  varied  from  five  shillings  to  four  pounds 
each  in  Carolina  currency  during  one  decade. 

In  Glen's  Answers  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  he  gives  a 
table  of  the  exports  and  imports  of  South  Carolina  for 
1748.  The  total  is  given  as  ^^  1,1  25,960-3-1 1  currency, 
which  equals  ^161,365-18-0  sterling.  Thus  we  must 
divide  the  South  Carolina  prices  by  seven,  at  that  date, 
when  comparing  them  with  those  of  England. 

Cane  was  used  with  all  kinds  of  wooden  frames,  and 
sometimes  cane  was  employed  throughout,  the  walnut  frame 
being  the  most  expensive.  In  1733,  John  Lewis  had  six 
maple  matted  chairs,  £6,  six  maple  cane  do.,  £,10,  and  one 
elbow  do.,  j^3.  In  1735,  Andrew  Allen  owned  twelve  plain 
cane  chairs,  ;^2o;  twelve  do.  and  elbow  do.,  ^^20;  twenty- 
four  flowered  cane  do.  and  elbow  do.,  ;^5o;  and  seven  old 
chairs,  ^^3.  In  1742,  we  find  six  high-backed  black  cane 
chairs  (old),  jC^.  In  the  same  year,  Edward  Hext  pos- 
sessed twelve  cane  and  one  elbow,  worth  jf^ijy  while  his 
ten  mahogany  chairs  are  only  valued  at  ;^20,  and  nineteen 
bass-bottomed  at  ^7-10-0.  In  1745,  six  cane  elbow 
chairs  are  set  down  at  j^i6.  In  1747,  bass-bottomed  cane 
chairs  are  mentioned. 

The  walnut  chair  was  made  up  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
In  addition  to  those  already  mentioned,  we  find  walnut 
matted,  walnut  and  bottoms  with  red  camlet  covers,  walnut 
with  rush  bottoms,  leather  bottoms,  satin  bottoms,  silk 
damask  covers,  and  red  damask  bottoms. 

The  example  of  a  chair  of  the  period  given  here  is  now 
in  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  Richmond.  It  is  some- 
what heavy,  but  solid  and  handsome.      It  has  a  modified 

136 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


lyre-shaped  splat  pierced  with  slits  like  three  lancet  Gothic 

windows  interlacing  a  square  with  curved   sides,  the  base 

being  pierced  with  a  heart.     The  top  of  the  back  is  rolled 

over     at    the    corners 

and  centre  like  a  strap 

or  scroll.      The  front 

legs  are  cabriole  with 

shell       ornamentation 

and  claw-and-ball  feet. 

The    back     legs    are 

slightly     curved     and 

rounded. 

The  Turkey-work 
chair  is  still  in  favour, 
and  the  common  rush- 
bottomed  and  the 
choice  Russia  leather 
are  found  in  large 
numbers.  At  this 
time  the  chairs  known 
as  the  "black"  and 
**  white  "  also  came  in ; 
the  former  was  worth 
about  ten  shillings.  Its 
shape  and  workman- 
ship    varied,     for,     in 

1725,  we  find  "  twenty-two  new  fashioned  black  chairs  and 
two  elbow"  valued  at  ^^36,  and  twelve  ordinary  ones  at 
jf6.  In  1722,  ten  white  (two  low  ones)  were  valued  at  £1. 
The  bass-bottomed  chair  was  general,  and  worth  more 
than  cither  of  the  former:  "six  bass-bottomed  chairs,  £\** 
(1722).     The  bass  was  used  with  various  frames.     In  1723, 

>37 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    CHAIR 

Chair  by  Thomas  Chippendale  or  some  close  imitation  of 
hit  method.      The  carving  ii  very  delicate.      About  1760. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  "  carved  wooden  bass  chair  "  was  worth  twenty-five  shill- 
ings. In  Carolina,  the  palmetto  also  was  freely  used.  We  find 
"eleven  parmetaw  chairs,  ^^2-15-0"  (1722);  and  "twelve 
black  permato  chairs,  ^^8  "  (1725).  The  "straw"  chair 
was  also  esteemed.  In  1727,  seven  "straw'*  are  valued 
at  ^3-10-0.  The  "matted"  is  also  found,  and  it  occurs 
in  the  most  valuable  woods  :  "  twelve  walnut  matted  and 
one  elbow  chair,  j^^S"  '^73  0- 

Other  chairs  recorded  are:  flag,  sheepskin,  maple  mat- 
ted, cedar  chairs  with  basket  bottoms,  hickory,  red,  carved 
matted,  corner,  and,  most  expensive  of  all,  twelve  brocade- 
bottom  chairs,  ^^84  (1751).  The  "Windsor  chair,"  the 
making  of  which  became  a  separate  industry,  made  its 
appearance  early  in  the  century.  Three  open  Windsor 
chairs  (John  Lloyd)  are  valued  at  ^3  in  1736;  and  two 
at  ^i  in  1 74 1. 

The  mahogany  chairs  on  page  148  are  fine  examples  of 
the  Chippendale  school  of  the  end  of  our  period.  They 
are  beautifully  carved  on  back,  arms  and  legs,  and  the  seats, 
of  course,  have  not  the  original  coverings.  They  are 
authentic  specimens  of  furniture  owned  in  Charleston 
before  the  Revolution,  and  they  are  now  in  possession  of 
Mrs.  John  Simonds  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 

The  average  house  in  the  South  was  well  supplied  with 
seats.  Apart  from  stools,  settles,  benches  and  couches,  the 
number  of  chairs  is  often  surprising.  A  few  examples  from 
Carolina  will  show  that  there  was  ample  accommodation 
for  callers.  J.  Guerard  and  S.  Butler  possessed  forty-one 
and  forty-three  chairs  respectively  in  1723  ;  R.  Woodward 
34,  and  D.  Gale  65,  in  1725;  Captain  R.  Cox  32  (1727); 
E.  Hancock  44  (1729);  C.  W.  Glover  34,  and  S.  Screven 
40  (1732);  J.  Satur  32  and  J.  Raven  42  (1733)  ;T.  Somer- 

138 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

villc  50,  John  Lloyd  38,  and  John  Ramsay  43  (1734); 
Andrew  Allen  57  ( 1735);  Edward  Hext  41  (1742);  Noah 
Serre  70  (1746);  J.  Wragg  51  (1751);  and  J.  Roche  59 
(1752).  These  numbers,  however,  are  insignificant  in 
comparison  with  those  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  In  the 
inventory  of  the  estate  of  William  Bladen,  of  Annapolis, 
the  various  chairs  reach  the  astounding  total  of  one  hundred 
and  two.  The  other  Marylander,  Major  Josiah  Wilson, 
possessed  only  a  beggarly  forty-two. 

The  tables  were  equally  varied  during  this  period.  In 
shape  they  were  square,  round  and  oval,  in  all  sizes.  The 
woods  were  cedar,  pine,  oak,  English  oak,  walnut,  black 
walnut,  cypress,  poplar  and  bay.  Sometimes  they  were 
painted  black,  white  and  various  colours.  Naturally,  the 
pine  were  the  cheapest.  In  171  i,  Nathaniel  Wilkinson 
(South  Carolina)  owned:  a  large  cedar  table,  j^'2-10-0; 
two  small  tables,  ^'i.  In  1722,  we  find  Thomas  Grimball 
(South  Carolina)  with:  one  old  side  table,  ^'i  ;  a  walnut 
oval  table,  £4. ;  one  large  oval  cedar  table,  £S ;  a  small 
table,  j^5;  one  side  table  with  mulberry  frame,  j^'i-io-o. 
John  Guerard,  1723,  owned:  five  square  tables,  ^^'9;  a 
square  oak  table,  £2;  one  large  oval  table,  ^^'6;  a  pine 
painted  table,  ^'i-io-o;  an  old  oak  table,  j[2. 

The  above  examples  show  the  relative  values.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  there  was  the  bay  table,  and  the  slate-topped 
table.  In  1727,  a  slate  top  table  is  valued  at  ^'i,  and 
Richard  Woodward  owned  a  square  bay  table  (^^4),  two 
bay  and  walnut  tables  (^('8),  besides  an  oval  and  cedar  table. 
The  slate  soon  led  to  the  marble.  In  1727,  Major  Wil- 
liam Blascway  had  three  cedar  tables  {j^ii),  two  Dutch 
tables  (;t3)»  ^"^  ^^^  marble  table  in  cedar  frame  (;^I5). 
This  evidently  was  the  latest   thing  out.      Mahogany  ap- 

IV; 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

peared  a  little  earlier;  it  was  naturally  costly.  Major  Per- 
cival  Pawley  owned  two  mahogany  tables  in  1724,  valued 
respectively  at  ^^9  and  j[i  i  ;  and  in  the  following  year 
we  find  John  Saunders  with  a  large  oval  one  at  ^7-10-0. 
Both  men  were  rich.  Sometimes  the  tables  would  be  in 
great  variety  in  one  house.  Besides  cedar  tables,  the  in- 
ventory of  Samuel  Pickering  (1728)  includes:  one  old 
Dutch  painted  table,  ^i  ;  one  Dutch  table,  ^^3  ;  another 
Dutch  table,  ^i  ;  a  screen  table,  ^^i-io-o;  and  a  card 
table,   ^6. 

C.  W.  Glover  (1732)  had  six  tables  in  his  hall  alone;  T. 
Somerville  (1734)  had  seventeen  tables  of  various  kinds. 
Among  the  varieties  found  are:  two  Madeira  tables,  ;^30 
(1731 ) ;  one  tea  table  and  one  round  three-legged  tea  table, 
j[io  (1738);  one  round  mahogany  claw-foot  table,  ^4, 
and  one  oval  table,  ^6  (1740);  small  turn-up  table  with 
drawers,  ^15  (1741);  red  bay  table,  ^8  (1742);  cherry 
table,  j[j  (1745);  six  mahogany  and  two  cypress  tables, 
^40  (1745);  large  and  small  swinging  tables,  j[2  (1746); 
cedar  dining  table,  ^3  (1746);  oval  maple  table,  j[g 
(1746);  India  tea  table,  ^12  (1746);  round  stand  mahog- 
any table,  j[^;  marble  table,  ^^lo;  folding  poplar  table, 
j[^ ;  little  cedar  table,  j[2 ;  little  pine  table,  fifteen  shil- 
lings; painted  table  and  side  table,  ^^lo  (all  1751).  In 
1752,  J.  Roche  owns  a  marble  slab  and  frame  valued  at 
j[2o;  in  1753,  a  white  oak  table  is  set  down  at  ;^io;  and 
in  1754,  we  find  a  small  walnut  flap  table,  j[6,  and  small 
marble  side  table,  ^6.  Lastly,  a  "  Manchineal  table "  is 
appraised  at  ^8  in  1741. 

Turning  now  to  the  beds,  we  find  many  varieties.  The 
trundle-bed  and  the  "sea-bed"  gradually  disappear.  Tht 
"standing  bedstead"  with  sacking  bottom  was  the  com- 

X40 


RUfth 


*  BEDSTEAD 

f   carveJ  high  posts,    and  bars  for  light  curtains   or  mosquito   nets.      This  piece   shoivs  'very   elaborate 
carving  oj  a  kind  luhich,  originating  near  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  continued 

to  be  used  as  late  as  l8jo. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

moncst.  It  was  made  of  oak,  and,  later,  of  mahogany  or 
walnut,  and  was  frequently  carved.  In  1727,  Captain  A. 
Muller  had  a  folding  bedstead  and  furniture,  ^('30  ;  and  in 
1733  Jonathan  Main,  a  **  press  bedstead,"  ^'2.  Others 
recorded  are :  a  bedstead  with  poles,  ^^'5  ( R.  Vaughan, 
1736);  three  screw  bedsteads,  ^^7-1 0-0  (T.  Batcheller, 
1737);  a  standing  calico  bed  and  furniture,  ;^8o,  two 
others  at  £'jo  each,  and  a  red  and  a  blue  Paragon  bed  at 
j^35  each  (Hon.  A.  Middleton,  1738);  afield  bedstead  and 
coarse  pavilion  (Thomas  Oliver,  1744) ;  two  yellow  "Saun- 
ders bedsteads,"  jf  8,  two  pine  bedsteads,  £z^  and  four  feather 
beds  and  bolsters,  £\^o  (Isaac  Cordes,  1745)  ;  a  mahogany 
settee  bed,  ^^50  (John  Lawrens,  1745)  ;  a  pine  bedstead  and 
cord,  j^*i-io-o,  a  "  Sarsafaix"  bedstead  and  cord,  £\-j-6 
(John  Witter,  1746)  ;  a  painted  bedstead,  ^^'i  (G.  Haskctt, 
1747);  a  four-post  oak  bedstead  and  bedding,  ;{'25,  and  a 
mahogany  bedstead  and  bedding,  ^{'50  (Joseph  Wragg, 
1 751);  a  four-post  oak  bedstead,  ;^io  (1753),  a  cypress 
bedstead,  £2  (1754). 

It  was,  however,  the  bedding  and  adornment  in  which 
the  chief  value  still  lay.  Thus,  while  the  above-mentioned 
four-post  oak  bedstead  and  bedding  were  valued  at  £2^  in 
1 75 1,  we  find  another  without  the  bedding  set  down  at 
£\o  two  years  later;  and  in  1746  S.  C.  Gaultier's  mahog- 
any bedstead  (probably  a  low  one),  with  sacking  bottom, 
was  worth  only  £^. 

A  fine  specimen  of  the  carved  mahogany  four-post  bed- 
stead is  shown  facing  page  142.  The  posts  are  beautifully 
turned  and  carved  in  foliage  designs  and  terminate  at  the 
top  in  pineapples.  It  is  unusually  large,  measuring  eight 
feet  four  inches  from  cornice  to  floor,  six  feet  eight  inches 
long  and    five  feet  one  inch  wide.      The  posts  arc  fourteen 

«4i 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

inches  in  circumference,  and  the  feet  have  deep  brass 
sockets  and  bands  into  which  the  castors  fit.  It  is  now 
owned  by  Mrs.  James  H.  Harris,  of  Richmond,  and  has 
been  owned  by  the  family  for  more  than  a  century. 

Some  of  the  bed  furnishings  were  very  costly,  and  the 
materials  and  styles  varied  greatly.  Mosquito  netting,  made 
into  a  canopy  and  still  known  as  a  pavilion  in  South  Caro- 
lina, was  common  all  through  the  South.  It  was  spread 
over  the  hammock  as  well  as  the  bed;  it  was  sometimes 
coloured  and  seems  to  have  been  quite  expensive.  Some 
of  the  prices  are  as  follows:  a  pavilion,  ^8  (1722);  two 
"gauzed"  pavilions,  £zo  (1725);  a  pavilion  and  ham- 
mock, ^5  (1725);  a  thread  pavilion  and  hammock,  ^5, 
and  two  gauze  pavilions  and  hammocks,  ^4  (1745);  two 
gauze  pavilions  and  hammocks,  ^^30  (1745);  and  abed 
pavilion,  £^\o  (1746). 

Curtains  and  quilts  are  even  more  important,  and  are 
often  clearly  described.  Thus,  we  have  a  set  of  green  serge 
curtains,  ^7  (1723);  bedstead  with  blue  curtains,  ;^2o- 
5-0  (1723);  set  of  green  serge  curtains,  ^j  (1723);  suit 
of  curtains  and  quilt,  ^^30  (1724);  and  a  suit  of  calico 
curtains,  £^j  (1725).  John  Jordon,  of  Maryland,  owned 
in  1729  a  scarlet  camblet  bed  frame,  six  window  curtains 
and  three  valance  and  one  old  red  china  bedding  and  bed. 
S.  Screven,  of  South  Carolina,  had  in  1732  five  bedsteads 
and  beds,  eleven  sheets,  ninety-nine  blankets,  fourteen  pil- 
lows, four  quilts,  one  cover,  and  one  set  of  curtains,  amount- 
ing to  /163. 

John  Washington,  of  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia, 
left  to  his  daughters  "  the  white  quilt  and  the  white  cur- 
tains and  vallians";  Mary  Washington  left  to  her  son. 
General  George  Washington,  her  best  bed,  bedstead  of  Vir- 

14a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ginia  cloth  curtains,  and  a  quilted  blue  and  white  quilt; 
and  to  her  granddaughter,  Polly  Carter,  a  bedstead  draped 
with  purple  curtains  and  covered  with  a  white  counterpane. 

Anne  Le  Brasseur  (1742)  possessed  a  bedstead  with 
sacking  bottom,  bed,  bolster,  two  pillows,  two  rails  and  a 
head-board,  a  moulded  wooden  tester,  and  a  blue  and  white 
cotton  counterpane,  all  worth  ^^35.  Among  other  bed- 
furnishings  we  find:  a  cotton  counterpane,  ^'8;  a  suit  of 
calico  curtains,  bedstead,  pavilion,  mattress,  feather-bed, 
bolster  and  pillow,  and  window  curtains,  ^^100  (Thomas 
Oliver,  Esq.,  1744);  a  lined  set  of  curtains,  j[io;  a  white 
pavilion,  £6  (1744).  James  Matthews  (1745)  possessed 
in  his  "front  room  upstairs"  a  blue  chintz  bed  and  furni- 
ture with  pavilion  and  window  curtains,  appraised  at  the 
astonishing  sum  of  ^^200.  The  bed  and  furniture  in  the 
"back  room  upstairs"  was  valued  at  j[iS^*  ^"^  ^^  ^^^ 
"front  room  garret,"  among  other  things,  was  a  bed  and 
furniture,  £jo\  two  pavilions,  a  suit  of  chintz  curtains  and 
chintz  counterpane,  j^i2o;  and  bed-linen  to  the  value  of 
^^325.  It  is  evident  that  these  values  are  not  very  excep- 
tional, for  the  same  year  we  find  another  householder  in 
possession  of  "  2  sutes  curtains,  j^ioo."  The  latter  must 
have  been  of  chintz,  which  was  plainly  the  fashionable 
material  and  probably  the  "latest  thing  out."  It  seems  to 
have  been  imitated,  and  its  relative  cost  to  calico  appears 
from  the  following:  "one  set  green  curtains,  ^^5 ;  one  set 
Indian  calico  ditto,  £^j\  one  ditto,  j^io;  one  ditto  mock 
chints,  ^^40." 

The  curtains  at  the  windows  frequently  matched  those 
of  the  bed,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  this  harmony  was 
observed.  Among  other  kinds  we  find,  in  addition  to  those 
already  given,  a  set  of  curtains,  lined,  J[^\o  (1744);   2  suits 

M3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  curtains,  ^^loo  (1745);  3  red  window  curtains,  15 
shillings  (1747);  i  set  calico  curtains,  j[20  (1747);  3 
pairs  window  curtains,  ^3  (1751). 

Feather  or  flock  beds  on  corded  sacking-bottoms  were 
the  commonest  arrangement,  but  hair  mattresses  were  in 
use  in  wealthy  families,  in  the  early  part  of  the  century. 
Roland  Vaughan  owned  two,  valued  at  ;^io,  in  1736. 

Screens  were  by  no  means  uncommon,  but  the  hand- 
screen  is  not  often  found.  Sometimes  they  were  small 
round  or  square  frames  sliding  on  a  post.  These  frames 
were  sometimes  painted  wood  and  sometimes  they  were 
covered  with  embroidered  materials.  The  values  naturally 
varied  greatly.  In  1725,  a  pair  was  appraised  at  ^i,  and 
in  1727  one  screen  at  ^^30.  T.  Fisher  owns  one  at  ^^"6 
(1736),  and  S.  Eveleigh  two  at  ^'15  (1738).  A  painted 
screen,  half  worn,  is  valued  at  ^"6,  in  1741,  and  two  leather 
ones  at  ^{'15,  in  1744.  In  the  latter  year  a  screen  (kind 
not  stated)  is  worth  seven  guineas.  In  1745,  Sarah  Trott 
owns  a  leather  one  valued  at  ^^^i 0-2-0,  and  in  1745,  one 
belonging  to  E.  Heskett  is  put  down  at  ^^8.  T.  Wragg 
(175 1)  possessed  two  particularly  choice  specimens,  one 
gilt  (^^30)  and  one  stamped  leather  (^'20).  In  the  latter 
year  we  also  find  a  painted  screen  (^'4-10-0);  and  ten 
guineas  is  the  value  of  a  four-leaved  screen  in  1754. 

Till  nearly  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
carpets  mentioned  were  still  only  coverings  for  tables,  bu- 
reaux, etc.  The  distinction  is  clearly  drawn  in  the  inventory 
of  Noah  Serre  (1746),  in  which  we  find  two  painted 
table  carpets,  ^2,  and  one  painted  floor  cloth,  ;^  10.  Other 
carpets  are  Scotch,  Indian,  hair,  and  Turkey. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  rooms  were  bright  and  cheerful 
with  a  variety  of  colour,  and  the  somewhat  sombre  efl^ect  of 

«44 


DRKSSING-TABLE 
This  mahogany  drtisini-Uible  is  owned  by  Mrs.  Jndrru;  iSimonds,  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 


r 


:/*  • 


TWO    EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY   CLOCKS 

The  clock  to  the  left  ivas  made  in  Charleston,  and  tells  tides  as  nvell  as  phases  of  the  moon  ;  //  //  otuned  by 
Mrs.  Andrexv  Simonds,  Charleston,  S.  C.      The  clock  on  the  right  belonged  to  Franklin. 

See  pages  J4J  and  106. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


mahogany  did  not  dominate  until  comparatively  late  in  the 
century.  Cushions  were  largely  used  to  make  the  chairs 
comfortable:  they  often  had  covers  embroidered  by  the 
female  members  of  the  family.  Rebecca  Axtell  (1727) 
had  four  chair  covers  worked,  ^^'i.  T.  Gadsden  (1741) 
owned  eighteen  green 
damask  cushions,  one 
cover  for  the  easy 
chair  and  for  the 
cushions  for  ditto,  one 
cover  for  the  settee 
with  two  bolsters, 
j[i2;  and  two  cush- 
ions covered  with  blue. 
Anne  Le  Brasseur 
(1742)  owned  an 
"  easy  chair  and  cush- 
ion covered  with 
crewel  wrought  and  a 
calico  cushion  case,"  /'30  ;  and  two  crewel  wrought  chair 
bottoms,  j[2.  J.  Wragg  (1751)  had  an  easy  chair  and 
cushion  valued  at  £iS*  ^"^  ^"  ^754  ^^  ^"^  ^"  ^^^Y  chair 
and  three  covers  for  same,  /'20. 

The  curtains  also  were  frequently  adorned  with  needle- 
work. An  instance  of  this  occurs  in  the  will  of  Anthony 
Walke,  of  Fairfield,  Princess  Anne  County,  Virginia:  "To  my 
son  Anthony  my  suit  of  embroidered  curtains,  in  membrance 
of  his  mother  (Jane  Randolph)  who  took  great  pains  in 
working  them — my  father's  walnut  secretarie  and  clock,"  etc. 

Corner  cupboards  came  into  fashion  about  17 10,  after 
which  date  they  constantly  occur.  Presses,  cupboards  and 
chests  of  drawers  were  made  principally  of  cedar,  pine  and 

«45 


t  rcwi^ 


MAHOGANY    CHAIR    AND    DRESSING    CASE 

The   dressing   case  was  Imported  by  Randolph   of  Curlu  in 
1 72 1.      The  brass  handles  are  original. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

cypress  during  this  period.  They  were  not  cheap ;  an 
article  of  furniture  containing  drawers  (especially  with  lock 
and  key)  was  always  highly  esteemed. 

An  example  of  an  early  mahogany  chest  of  drawers  is 
given  on  page  145.  It  is  very  plain  in  form  and  diminutive 
in  size.  The  drawers  have  the  original  brass  handles  and 
key-plates,  and  the  colour  of  the  mahogany  is  unusually  rich. 
It  would  probably  be  hard  to  find  an  earlier  example  in  the 
country,  for  it  was  imported  by  Thomas  Randolph,  of 
CurleSy  and  is  now  in  possession  of  his  descendant,  Mrs.  J. 
Adair  Pleasants,  Richmond,  Va.  The  dressing-glass  above 
it  is  also  of  mahogany  and  about  the  same  age.  The  brass 
candlestick  is  contemporary.  The  chair  standing  to  the 
left  is  of  mahogany,  lighter  in  colour.  The  plain  square 
back,  with  pierced  jar-shaped  splat,  plain  squared  legs  and 
straining  rails  show  that  this  also  dates  from  early  in  the 
century,  probably  not  later  than  1730.  The  castors,  in  all 
probability,  are  later  additions. 

The  plate  facing  page  i  1 6  shows  an  old  mahogany 
chest  of  drawers,  with  swell  front  and  brass  handles,  owned 
by  Miss  Susan  Pringle,  Charleston,  S.  C.  Upon  it  stands 
a  japanned  dressing-glass,  of  which  we  find  so  many 
instances  in  the  inventories.  The  present  example  was  said 
to  have  been  one  of  the  first  imported  into  Charleston  from 
the  East.  A  similar  dressing-glass  appears  in  Washington's 
bed-room  in  Mount  Vernon.      (See  Frontispiece.) 

Clocks  existed  in  considerable  numbers:  the  high  clock- 
case  was  often  carved  and  moulded,  and  made  a  handsome 
piece  of  furniture  in  the  hall  or  dining-room.  The  small 
clock  was  used,  however,  and  its  price  could  be  equally 
high.  In  1 75  I,  the  Hon.  J.  Cullom  owned  a  table  clock 
valued  at  ^^loo,  while  Dr.  J.  Gaultier's  small  alarm  clock 

146 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

(1746)  was  only  worth  j{.  2-1 0-0.  The  cases  were  often 
worth  more  than  the  works,  and  we  have  data  for  forming 
an  idea  of  the  relative  values.  In  1727,  John  Bateson, 
clockmaker,  died,  possessed  of  a  silver  repeating  watch, 
^90,  and  an  eight-day  clock  movement,  j^*25-io-o.  In 
the  same  year  two  clocks  are  appraised  at  /.  1 5  and 
j^'40.  In  1733,  one  clock-case  is  worth  ^("50,  and  another 
clock  and  case,  J^^^S-  ^^ther  values  are  ^{.'40  and  ^^20 
(1734);  ;t"50  (^738 );  and/35  (1741).  T.  Lloyd  owned 
a  black  japanned  case  clock,  ^^35,  in  1742  ;  and  Dr.  J.  Gaul- 
tier,  an  eight-day  ditto,  ^('50,  in  1745.  Captain  H.  Hext 
and  James  Matthews  each  owned  a  clock  valued  at  ^80  in 
the  latter  year.  G.  Haskett  had  one  worth  ^^50  (1747), 
and  J.  Roche  another  at  /*75  (1752).  Two  years  later, 
two  japanned  eight-day  clocks  were  appraised  at   ^^40   and 

/50. 

An  accompanying  example  is  a  fine  San  Domingo 
mahogany  clock  with  handsome  brass  mountings,  owned 
by  Mrs.  Andrew  Simonds,  Charleston,  S.  C.  It  tells  the 
tides  and  the  phases  of  the  moon,  as  well  as  the  month, 
day  and  hour.  Let  into  the  wood  and  under  a  glass  frame 
is  the  date  •*  1717."  A  brass  plate  on  the  face  bears  the 
words  **  William  Lee,  Charles  Town."  The  spelling  is 
that  which  was  in  use  in  the  city  during  the  first  century 
of  the  settlement,  and  is  in  itself  evidence  that  the  clock 
is  over  125  years  old.  It  was  used  as  a  packing-case 
for  Revolutionary  bayonets,  which  were,  however,  never 
shipped  to  their  destination. 

Pictures  and  maps  are  found  in  considerable  quantities 
in  the  houses  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
but  unfortunately  the  inventories  do  not  often  state  the  sub- 
jects.     The  prices,  however,  are  very   moderate  as  a  rule; 

147 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


in  fact,  in  many  cases,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  frames  and  glasses  were  valued  as  highly  as  the  pictures 
themselves.  The  maps  are  also  set  down  without  descrip- 
tion in  most  cases.  The  hall  always  had  a  generous  supply 
of  what  pictures  the  family  possessed.  Sometimes  a  distinc- 
tion was  drawn  be- 
tween "pictures"  and 
paintings,"  which 
would  argue  the 
former  to  be  under- 
stood as  engravings. 
Frequently  the  num- 
ber is  not  mentioned, 
the  item  simply  read- 
ing "old  pictures,"  or 
"a  parcel  of  old  pic- 
tures." 

It  is  customary  to 
think  of  old  and  "Co- 
lonial "  furniture  as  consisting  entirely  of  mahogany.  This 
idea  is  erroneous,  as  we  have  already  seen.  Mahogany  fur- 
niture was  practically  non-existent  in  the  South  before  1720, 
and  then,  even  among  the  wealthiest,  its  spread  was  very 
slow.  Twenty-five  years  later  there  were  only  a  few  scattered 
pieces  in  most  of  the  houses,  and  sometimes  there  was  none 
at  all.  In  1746  no  mahogany  is  mentioned  in  the  inventory 
of  Daniel  Townsend,  whose  estate  is  appraised  at  more  than 
^20,000:  his  furniture  consisted  of  walnut,  cedar,  pine, 
and  maple.  Richard  Wright,  1747,  who  was  also  exceed- 
ingly rich,  had  a  good  deal  of  mahogany,  but  it  was  liberally 
sprinkled  with  "leather-bottomed,  bass-bottomed,  rush-bot- 
tomed" and  cane  chairs.    People  in  moderate  circumstances 

148 


TWO    CHAIRS 

These  chairs  are  delicately  carved  in  mahogany,  and  are  very 
valuable  pieces;    date  about  1750.     Sec  page  138. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

occasionally  possessed  a  mahogany  table,  but  their  furniture 
f      was  almost  entirely  oak,  pine,  bay,  cypress,  cedar,  and  walnut. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  century  the  rage  for  mahog- 
any was  fast  increasing.  The  Carolina  planters  were  ex- 
ceedingly prosperous  and  their  houses  showed  a  degree  of 
luxury  unsurpassed  by  the  London  merchants.  In  1751, 
Mr.  John  Morton,  whose  estate  was  valued  at  j^  2 1,355, 
possessed  rich  furniture  and  quantities  of  it.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  six  common  black  chairs  and  an  "  iron  japanned 
table  and  waiter,"  it  seems  to  have  been  all  mahogany. 
Among  other  things  we  find  a  harpsichord  (^^150);  two 
sets  of  prints  of  Hogarth's  Rake's  Progress  and  Harlot's 
Progress  (j^  30) ;  another  harpsichord  and  a  spyglass,  together 
valued  at  j^  30 ;  a  mahogany  bookcase  (j^'i  00) ;  i  2  plain  ma- 
hogany chairs  (j^'40);  12  brocade  bottomed  chairs  (^^84); 
a  mahogany  cradle  and  two  cases  of  bottles  (j[is)'y  ^"d  a 
yellow  silk  bed-quilt,  which  must  have  been  very  choice, 
since  it  was  valued  at  ^^  10. 

The  growing  taste  for  furniture  of  the  Chippendale 
school  is  clearly  seen  towards  1740.  The  prices  of  com- 
paratively minor  articles  show  that  the  new  style  has 
arrived.  R.  Vaughan,  1736,  has  a  large  mahogany  chest 
of  drawers,  £2^ ;  a  mahogany  bookcase,  with  sixteen 
square  glasses,  ;^20;  a  mahogany  paper  case,  ^16;  a  small 
mahogany  writing  desk,  j[io;  a  mahogany  tea-box,  ^'3-10-0. 
T.  Gadsden,  1741,  has  a  glass  bookcase  escritoire,  ^^40. 

In  Maryland,  also,  about  this  time,  mahogany  was  in 
vogue,  and  the  best  of  it  came  by  way  of  England. 

Other  evidence  of  the  general  practice  of  importing 
the  finer  furniture  from  England,  until  the  Revolution,  is 
afforded  by  the  Will  of  Anthony  Walke,  of  Fairfield, 
Princess  Anne  County,  Virginia: 

«49 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


"  I  give  to  my  wife, 

Mary   Walke   the 

sum  of  fifty  pounds  ster- 
ling to  buy  furniture  for 
her  best  room,  in  case  I 
should  not  send  for  it 
before  my  death ." 

Facing  page  1 40 
is  a  mahogany  bed  and 
chair  from  Boiling 
Haiiy  Virginia.  The 
carving  of  the  posts  is 
not  very  elaborate,  but 
is  quite  characteristic 
of  so  many  beds  of  the 
period.  The  little 
dressing  glass  and 
drawer  is  also  mahog- 
any and  typical  of  so 
many  we  have  had 
mentioned  in  the  in- 
ventories. The  secre- 
tary is  mahogany,  in- 
laid, and  with  brass 
mounts.  The  two 
sham  top  drawers  are, 
of  course,  one  piece, 
which  lets  down  in 
front  to  form  a  writing 

This  special  piece  is  ex-     dcslc,     with      the      USUal 

arrangements  inside. 
It  belonged  to  Chief- Justice  Marshall,  of  Virginia,  and  is 
now  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Thomas  Boiling,  Richmond,  Va. 

150 


^  c...,^ 


BOOKCASE 


Later  years  of  eighteenth  century 
traordinarily  large. 


SOMK  OLD  NEW   ORLIiANS  IMECKS 

LaJy's  working-UtbU,  candles  ticks  ^  liquor  set  and  Russian  Samovar.     The  table  is  in  Louis 

XIV  style  and  has  drawers  with  secret  bottoms.    The  liquor  set  is  very  rare. 


f,^' 

J^*:' 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

^  Chippendale  bookcase  is  shown  on  page  150.  It  is 
of  colossal  dimensions.  This  is  the  property  of  Mr.  George 
S.  Holmes,  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  is  an  old  family  piece, 
as  two  or  three  of  the  original  drawers  were  used  by  the 
British  officers  for  horse-troughs.  Their  places  have  been 
supplied  by  "new  ones"  made  directly  after  the  Revolution. 
The  wavy  cornice  is  surmounted  by  the  brass  ornament. 

Opposite  page  92  is  a  room  in  the  home  of  Mr.  Andrew 
Simonds,  Charleston,  S.  C.  It  is  furnished  in  the  old 
style,  with  brilliantly  flowered  chintz  hangings,  chair 
covers,  and  wall-paper  to  match.  The  bed  is  an  old 
piece  of  Charleston  mahogany,  beautifully  carved,  each  post 
being  a  succession  of  pine-apples  and  foliage.  The  tester  is 
also  carved.  It  belonged  originally  "  to  the  fairest  woman 
in  all  the  Carolinas,"  over  a  century  ago.  The  rest  of  the 
furniture  is  of  somewhat  later  date.  The  dressing-table,  a 
handsome  specimen,  inlaid  with  brass,  is  shown  facing 
page  144.  The  chair  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  is  of  the 
Hepplewhite  School,  and  is  of  an  unusual  size  and  very 
rich  carving.  The  chair  in  front  of  the  table  is  exceed- 
ingly late. 

Louisiana,  though  partly  colonized  during  the  Seven- 
teenth Century,  contained  no  flourishing  towns  nor  thriv- 
ing plantations,  and  therefore  research  into  its  furniture 
yields  little  result.  New  Orleans,  at  first  a  penal  settle- 
ment, knew  nothing  of  wealth  or  fashion  until  late  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century.  What  good  furniture  the  higher 
officials  possessed  was  naturally  of  French  make,  and 
pieces  of  the  styles  of  Louis  Quatorze,  Quinze,  and  Seize 
undoubtedly  found  their  way  across  the  water.  The  fine 
examples  of  those  periods  still  to  be  found  in  the  city,  how- 
ever, were  brought  in  or  imported,  at  a  considerably  later  date. 

»5» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

While  the  carved  oak  was  the  furniture  fashionable 
in  England  and  her  colonies,  the  furniture  of  France  was 
particularly  luxurious.  The  general  taste  for  magnificence 
in  the  reign  of  Louis  Quatorze  produced  the  ornate 
meubles  de  luxe^  of  which  Boule  and  Riesener  were  the 
most  famous  designers.  Cabinets,  encoignuresy  fauteuilsy 
tables,  commodes,  clocks,  armoireSy  etc.,  were  veneered  with 
tortoise-shell  and  inlaid  with  brass,  and  richly  ornamented 
with  gilt  bronze  mounts.  The  styles  of  Louis  Quatorze, 
Louis  Quinze,  and  Louis  Seize  will  be  treated  in  a  later 
chapter,  but  we  give  an  example  (see  plate  facing  page 
150)  of  Boule's  work.  The  piece  is  a  lady's  work-table 
of  the  Louis  Fourteenth  period.  It  is  of  ebony,  with  the 
kind  of  veneering  just  mentioned.  It  has  the  usual  bag, 
or  well,  for  small  receptacles,  and  curious  drawers  with 
secret  bottoms.  It  was  a  present  from  Louis  Philippe 
to  the  Marquis  de  Marigny.  Upon  the  table  is  a  liquor 
set  with  bottle  and  glasses  of  crystal  inlaid  with  gold. 
The  case  is  ebony  inlaid  with  nacre  and  bronze.  This 
was  a  gift  from  Gov.  Villere  to  the  Marquis  de  Marigny. 
The  silver  candlesticks  also  belonged  to  Marigny,  a  present 
from  Toledano.  Beneath  the  table  stands  a  Russian  samo- 
var of  bronze. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FOREiFATHERS 


CARVED   OAK   CUPBOARD 
Owned  by  Mr.   IValter  Hosmer,   Wethersfield,  Conn.    See  Page  163. 


THE    FURNITURE 

OF   OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRITICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGIS 


ILLUSTRATED 


^s:j^sjic:ic:s:::ss:::^::^:::^:::m:::s;::^:^^ 


t^::KM  PART  m   ^cx>3 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,    MAY,    I901,   BY 
DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE    A    CO. 


CONTENTS 


The   Early  Settlers  of  New   England  ^5S~^57 

First  houses,  i  56  ;  Men  of  wealth,  i  56  ;  home  of  Geoi^c 
Phillips,  I  56-7. 

Early  Houses  in  Plymouth  and  Salem         .     158—160 
Chests,  Trunks,  The  Atlantic  Passage  i  61-162 

Possessions  of  those  who  Perished  in  the  C»rea  r 

Ship  ........    163 

Home  of  Governor  Goodyear       .  .  .  .164 

(Governor  Eaton's  Furniture       .  .  .     166-168 

Notable  and  Aristocratic  Settlers  .    1 69-1 71 

Indications  of  comfort  and  elegance,  171. 

Joiners  and  Cabinet-makers,  Upholsterers  and 

Carvers      ......    173—179 

Kinds  of  woods  used,  173  ;  value  of  furniture,  173;  skilled 
labour,  174;  wages,  174  ;  shop  goods  of  certain  joiners,  177— 
8;  importations  of  tropical  woods,  179;  New  England  fur- 
niture sent  to  the  South,  179. 

Chairs,  Stools  and  Other  Seats  .  .     180—196 

Prices  of  chairs,  180;  the  child's  chair,  181-2;  varieties  of 
chairs,  182-9  ;  materials  and  colours  used  for  upholstering 
chairs,  188-190 ;  buffet-stools,  190— i  ;  changes  in  the  form 
of  the  chair,  194;  the  passing  of  the  oak  period  and  the 
growing  Dutch  influence,  194—5. 

Extensive  Use  of  Cushions  ....     196-198 

Coverings  and  cases,  196;  number  and  value  of  cushions, 
197-8  ;  carpets  and  cupboard  cloths,  197-8. 

Tables  .......     198-202 

Trestles,  btiards  and  forms,  198—9;  drawing  and  folding 
ubies,  199;  round,  square  and  oval  tables,  200-2  j  woods 
used  for  tables,  201. 


Contents 


:-2i  I 


213 
220 


PACK 

Beds  and  Their  Furnishings         .  .  .    202—205 

Four-post  and  trundle-beds,  202—3  ;  materials  and  colours  of 
curtains,  204—5  *>  tju'lts,  blankets  and  coverlids,  204—5. 

The  Cupboard      ......    205 

Plate  and  pewter  displayed,  205-6  ;  livery  and  court  cup- 
boards, 207—8  ;  cupboard  cloths,  carpets  and  cushions,  209; 
changes  and  developments  of  form,  209—1 1. 

The  Press  and  the  Frame    .  .  .  .211 

Chests  AND  Trunks       .  .  .  .  .    213 

Varieties  of  the  chest,  214;  definitions,  215;  evolution  of 
the  chest  with  drawers,  215—6  ;  chest  of  drawers,  218  ;  de- 
velopments, 220. 

Desks  and  Bookcases    .....    220—222 

Scretore  and  furnishings,  220— i;  books  and  study,  221. 

Metal  Mountings,  Locks,  Keys  and  Hinges 
The  Cabinet         ......    222 

Varieties  of  the  cabinet,  223  ;  china,  porcelain  and  East 
India  ornaments,  223—4. 

Musical  Instruments  and   Clocks  and  Watches 

224-225 

Virginals  and  "gitternes,"  224;  clocks  with  and  without 
cases,  224;   watches,  sun-dials  and  hour-glasses,  225. 

Looking-Glasses  and  Fireplaces  .  .    225- 

Artillery-Room  of  Major-General  Gibbons 
Wealthy  New  Englanders  .... 

Home  of  William  Wardell         .  .  .    229- 

HoME  OF  Sir   William  Phipps     ^        .  .    230- 

Dower  Furniture         .  .         .  .  .231- 


222 

224 


-226 
226 
227 
-230 
-231 
-232 


Hil^I 


List  of  Illustrations 


WITH      CRITICAL      NOTES     ON      MANY     OF 
THE        PLATES        BV       RUSSELL       STURGIS 


ALL    THE    NOTES    rURNItHKD    BY    MR.     STURGIt 
A«E    FOLLOWED    BV    HIS    INITIALS^    R.    S. 


Frontispiece:   Carved  Oak  Cupboard 


PAGE 

FACING       iii 


Kitchen  in  the  Hancock-Clarke  House    facing    155 

In  which  a  number  of  miscellaneous  articles,  authentic  relics  of  old  times  in  America, 
have  been  brought  together.  On  the  left  the  object  on  the  lowest  shelf  is  a  foot  stove 
such  as  was  used  in  church,  and  not  only  there.  The  andirons  are  of  no  impiortance  as 
works  of  art  or  industry.  The  leather  portmanteau  on  an  upper  shelf  should  be  com- 
pared with  those  facing  page  224,  but  this  is  one  of  a  later  date  than  they  and  belongs  to 
the  time  when  the  stage  coach  was  available.  The  chair  is  of  the  most  interesting  type. 
The  leather  receptacle  hanging  on  the  wall  above  the  chair  is  a  trunk-mail  only  a  little 
Larger  than  those  which  were  used  in  days  of  honeback  journeying.  On  the  wall  be- 
yond the  door  there  hang  tint  a  pair  of  saddle<bag9  of  leather.  Beneath  this  is  a  settle 
of  the  real  iiresidr  kind,  such  a  piece  of  furniture  as  was  used  in  the  country  houses  of 
England  from  very  early  times  ;  the  back  reaching  the  floor  so  as  tu  shut  out  draughts. 
In  front  of  the  lireplace  are  three  "  tin  kitchens,"  or  "  Dutch  ovens,"  shaped  so  as  to 
gather  and  reflect  upon  the  roasting  joint  the  beat  of  the  open  lire.      R.  S. 


Carved  Oak  Cupboard         .         .  .        facing 

Such  as  we  should  call  to-day  a  cabinet,  or,  using  a  French  phrase,  bakut.  The  fronti»- 
piecc  shows  the  same  piece  with  the  upper  door  shut.  There  is  no  reason  for  the  half- 
hexagonal  shape  of  the  upper  part  except  the  desire  to  preserve  the  decorative  etfect  of 
the  two  corner  pillars  standing  free  ;  and  these  pieces  were  made  rather  for  their  stateli- 
ness  than  for  mere  utility.  Consult  a  similar  piece  in  Part  I,  plate  opposite  page  36. 
In  the  present  instance  the  sculpture  is  all  in  scrollwork,  much  more  easy  and  flowing 
than  that  common  to  Elizabethan  design  ;  it  is  probably  of  the  time  of  Charles  I,  and 
the  dc  ails  studied  partly  from  Italian  models.  The  fact  that  the  sculpture  is  flat,  a 
mere  sinking  or  "abating"  of  the  background,  indicates  a  provincial  or  up-country 
piece  of  work  as  distinguished  from  that  oi  a  centre  of  manufacture  and  fine  art.  Other 
pieces  in  the  present  chapter  have  the  same  peculiarity.  This  flatness  is  hardly  abandoned 
in  any  part,  and  the  solid  Kulpture,  as  in  the  Ionic  capitals,  shows  an  unpracticed  hand. 
R.  S. 


158 


Settle  with  Table  Top 


The  back  of  which  is  formed  by  a  table  top  that  can  be  dropped  into  a  horisontal  posi- 
tion. Exactly  such  a  piece  oi  kitchen  furniture  can  be  bought  to-day,  cheaply  nude,  and 
called  an  ironing  table.      R.  S. 


159 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Oak  Table  .....        facing    159 

Which  was  originally  made  to  lift,  probably  attached  by  hinges  on  one  side  in  order  to 
save  room  in  the  fashion  shown  in  the  settle,  page  i  59.  The  unusually  large  bulbs  which 
form  part  of  the  design  of  the  legs  are  stained  black.  The  very  awkward  form  of  the 
straining  piece  is  to  be  noticed.  The  attempt  is  evident  to  keep  the  horizontal  bars  away 
from  the  ankles  of  those  who  may  sit  at  the  table.      R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  .  .  .  .  .  .  .161 

The  decoration  of  which  by  means  of  mouldings  worked  in  the  solid  wood  is  suggestive 
of  that  lingering  of  medizval  methods  of  design  which  exists,  more  visibly,  in  seventeenth- 
century  buildings  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  There  is  no  affectation  of  classical 
design  about  this  piece  j  it  is  put  together  simply  with  tenons  held  in  their  mortices  by 
pins.      R.  S. 

Carved  Oak  Chair  .  .  .        facing   164 

Of  which  the  form  is  simple  and  agreeable,  the  turned  legs  and  balusters  being  well  pro- 
portioned to  the  whole,  and  the  unusually  heavy  parts  very  effective  m  giving  the  appear- 
ance of  immovable  solidity.  The  piece  is  of  that  epoch  when  the  English  artisans  were 
trying  to  work  in  a  style  which  was  new  to  them,  and  which  involved  as  they  thought 
the  covering  of  every  part  with  ornament.  The  medizval  leafage  had  to  be  abandoned, 
and  they  were  not  provided  with  adequate  material  to  replace  it;  for  the  peasant  sculptor 
has  used  the  Elizabethan  strap  ornament  only  for  the  top  rail,  the  rest  of  his  work  being 
poorly  designed  scroll  patterns  of  his  own  imagining.      R.  S. 

Two  Clocks  .....        facing    165 

Both  clocks  are  of  English  manufacture  and  are  good  typical  examples  of  the  period. 

Oak  Cupboard  with  Drawers      .  .  .  .169 

But  with  the  balusters  and  the  curious  half  balusters  which  are  applied  to  the  surface  for 
ornament  made  of  some  finer  grained  wood  and  stained  black.  The  relation  of  these 
curious  half  balusters  to  the  engaged  columns  so  much  sought  after  in  buildings  of  the 
time  would  be  curious  to  make  out;  for  in  either  case  it  suggests  the  making  of  flat  draw- 
ings rather  than  the  working  out  the  building  or  the  furniture  in  modelling  clay.  The 
idea  that,  because  a  whole  round  shaft  or  pillar  is  good,  therefore  a  split  one  is  good  also 
has  done  a  great  deal  of  harm  to  design.      R.  S. 

Oak  Cradle  and  Table       .  .  .  .  .176 

Two  simple  specimens  of  native  make.  The  cradle  was  made  in  1680.  There  is  upon 
it  a  slight  attempt  at  decorarion.  The  table,  not  a  large  one,  is  somewhat  rougher,  al- 
though the  legs  are  turned.  The  drop  ornament  is  characteristic  of  much  furniture  of 
the  period  (see  the  chair  on  page  45).      £.  S. 

Chest  with  Drawers  .  .  .        facing   176 

Of  the  kind  which  was  called  also  Chest  on  drawers,  from  which  term  was  probably  de- 
rived the  more  modem  term,  Chest  of  drawers.  In  such  pieces  of  furniture  the  chest 
when  spoken  of  by  itself  was  often  called  "  well;"  of  course  because  you  dipped  into  it 
fix>m  above.  The  design,  with  mouldings  and  half  balusters  applied  and  probably  made  of 
different  wood  firom  the  piece,  is  chiefly  admirable  for  the  painted  ornament  in  red  and 
white.      An  Oriental  propriety  of  feeling  for  color  seems  to  have  controlled  it.      R.  S. 

Court  Cupboard  .  .  .  .  .  .178 

Called  in  modern  times  more  commonly  "cabinet."  In  this  case  the  effect  of  free  pil- 
bn  at  the  angles  (see  frontispiece  and  ^cing  page  158)  is  got  by  setting  back  the  whole 
upper  part  of  the  cupboard.  In  some  few  cases  the  quasi-architectural  effect  here  men- 
tioned is  got  without  the  twofold  inconvenience  of  having  the  doon  open  upon  a  solid 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAOI 

table  top,  the  things  ttanding  upon  which  are  likely  to  be  brushed  awray,  and  of  not  very 
eafy  access  to  the  interior;  and  this  by  the  sintple  device  of  opening  a  door  in  each  end  of 
the  upper  box,  the  front  of  which  remains  iixed.  In  this  and  in  the  cabinet  shown 
on  page  307  the  doors  open  in  the  front,  with  inAnite  inconvenience;  for,  indeed,  the 
ordinary  box  cabinet  is  as  clunuy  as  it  is  monumental.     R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  with  Drawer  .  .        facing    177 

The  chest  proper  or  Well  being  of  unusual  dimensions.  This  is  an  admirable  piece  of 
panelling,  the  traditional  character  of  the  adornment  by  cutting  and  moulding  being  well 
carried  out  in  the  decorative  sculpture.  The  square  panels  of  the  front  have  their  top 
and  bottom  edges,  viz.,  those  on  the  horizontal  rails,  chamfered  with  a  simple  splay  end- 
ing in  curved  stops,  but  the  upright  mullions  are  elaborately  moulded  on  both  edges,  a 
system  of  mouldings  which  is  not  repeated  on  the  sides  of  the  comer  stiles — an  excellent 
distinction  and  full  of  charm  to  the  lover  of  solid  woodwork.       R.  S. 

Oak  Chair  .         .         .         .         .         .         .181 

In  which  the  carving  shows  a  very  slight  advance  from  the  flat,  abated  work  facing  page 
158.  The  working  of  the  stiff  and  sharp  leaves  in  the  uprights  which  form  part  of 
the  panelled  back  is  very  interesting  as  showing  how  very  great  a  change  in  otherwise  flat 
work  b  to  be  obtained  by  a  few  well-imagined  groovings  and  sinkings.      R.  S. 

Table  and  Child's  Chair    .  .  .        facing   182 

The  table  leaves  are  supported  by  triangular  brackets  of  unusual  size.  This  belongs 
to  the  third  system  described  in  the  legend  of  table  on  page  201,  but  differs  from  nearly  all 
tables  with  springing  brackets  in  having  the  brackets  so  long  as  to  frame  into  the  straining 
piece  below.      R.  S. 

Carved  Oak  Chair  and  Leather  Chair     .  .    183 

The  cane  chair  is  of  the  Charles  II  period,  with  turned  supports  and  straining-rail.  The 
second  chair  was  originally  an  early  variety  of  the  low  leather  chair.      E.  S. 

Cane  Chair  and  Leather  Chair  .  .  .    184 

The  cane  chair  is  a  transitional  form,  showing  Dutch  influences.  The  legs  have  a  dis- 
tinct suggestion  of  the  cabriole  shape.  The  low  leather  chair  has  been  re-upholstered 
and  is  of  a  somewhat  later  development  than  that  on  the  preceding  plate.  Engravings 
of  Abraham  Bosse,  1633,  show  precisely  this  kind  of  chair.      £.  S. 

Rush-bottomed  Chair  .  .  .        facing    183 

This  early  example  of  a  "wing-chair  "  is  interesting  as  showing  no  trace  of  carving  or 
other  characteristics  of  the  Jacobean  period.  Its  comfort  was  increaaed  by  a  cushion. 
The  feet  show  the  growing  Dutch  influence  towards  the  end  of  the  century.      £.  S. 

Rush-Bottom  and  Cane  Chairs  .  .  .186 

The  chair  on  the  left  shows  the  back  «vtth  a  more  developed  use  of  the  plain  central 
panel  as  an  ornament,  the  rane  webbing  on  either  side  now  having  been  discarded  and 
the  top  being  slightly  shaped  towards  the  form  of  the  bow  which  will  shortly  become  so 
popular.  A  little  further  development  of  the  feet  will  also  produce  the  hoof  feet.  The 
centre  chair  has  Seen  cut  down  into  a  rocking-chair  and  its  original  proportions  entirely 
change^.     The  chair  on  the  right  is  a  late  example  of  this  period.      E.  S. 

Rush-bottom,  Turned  and  Cane  Chairs      .  .187 

These  are  three  more  varieties  that  were  very  common  during  this  century.  The  centre 
chair  is  very  ungainly,  the  tunted  supports  being  very  massive.  The  hollow  prepared  for 
the  cushion  is  plainly  visible.     E.  S. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACE 

Cane  Chairs         .  .  .  .  .  .  .188 

These  are  chiefly  interesting  for  the  panels  of  cane  in  the  back  and  the  combination  of 
turned  and  carved  work  in  the  frames.      E.  S. 

Cane  Couch  and  Armchair  .  .  .  .190 

The  couch  is  a  good  specimen  of  the  period,  the  carving  being  uniform  with  the  prevail- 
ing style  of  chair.      The  cane   bottom  has  been  replaced  with  modern  material.      E.  S. 

Carved  Oak  Cane  Chairs  .... 

The  chair  on    the  left    is  an    exceedingly  handsome   specimen  and   is  more    elaborately 
carved  than  many  of  the  chairs  of  this  period. 


193 


Settle  with  Folding  Candlestand     .        facing    194 

The  back  of  which  does  not  seem  ever  to  have  reached  the  floor.  The  panelled  back  and 
arms  are  high  enough  to  guard  the  person  against  any  draughts  above,  as  from  open  or 
leaking  windows.  The  adjustable  stand  for  a  candle  or  a  cup  of  tea  is  an  unusual  feature 
— one  that  may  well  have  been  added  at  a  later  time,  perhaps  at  the  behest  of  someone 
who  liked  the  particular  corner  by  the  Are  which  the  settle  afl^orded  him  or  her,  and  who 
desired  such  a  convenience  at  the  elbow.      R.  S. 

Turkey-work  Settee  .  .  .        facing   195 

This  is  an  unusually  interesting  example,  as  the  original  Turkey-work  covering  has  been 
preserved  and  enables  us  to  see  the  material  that  gave  its  name  to  one  of  the  most 
.  popular  class  of  chairs  for  fully  half  a  century.  The  variegated  colors  and  patterns  pro- 
duce a  very  bright  efl^cct.  The  framework  is  of  turned  oak  and  the  settee  is  both  com- 
fortable and  attractive.      E.  S. 

Oval  Table  .......   200 

With  eight  legs,  very  similar  to  that  shown  on  page  201,  the  difference  being  that 
while  on  page  201  all  eight  legs  reach  the  floor,  at  least  in  appearance,  in  the  present 
example  only  six  stand  on  the  floor,  while  the  other  two  are  confessedly  revolving  up- 
rights into  which  the  swinging  structures  supporting  the  leaves  are  framed.  A  compari- 
son between  the  designs  of  these  two  tables  is  very  interesting.  There  are  some  reasons 
for  thinking  that  that  shown  on  page  zoo  is  much  earlier  than  that  shown  on  page 
201,  but  the  latter  design  with  the  baluster-shaped  legs  seems  more  graceful.  There 
is  no  common  piece  of  late  seventeenth-century  furniture  more  pleasantly  fantastic  or 
more  agreeable,  both  for  use  and  decorative  effect,  than  these  many-legged  tables  when  of 
pretty  form,  or,  as  is  less  common,  of  beautiful  wood.      R.  S. 

Oval  Table  .  .  .  .  .  .  .201 

Of  the  more  elaborate  sort,  in  which  the  support  for  the  leaves  when  open  is  afforded 
by  a  revolving  frame  with  two  legs. 

The  three-cornered  table  in  Part  II,  opposite  page  1 18,  gives  another  and  sometimes  a 
very  useful  form.      R.  S. 

Oak  Court  Cupboard  .....   207 

This  is  practically  identical  with  that  described  above  and  shown  on  page  178. 

Cupboard  Chest  of  Drawers       .  .        facing  210 

The  uppermost  large  drawer  oddly  designed  so  as  to  resemble  the  front  of  a  cupboard, 
while  the  drawers  are  enclosed  and  concealed  by  two  doors.  The  style  of  the  work  re- 
sembles that  of  the  two  chests,  pages  217  and  218. 

Two  pieces  shown  in  Fart  II  may  be  compared  with  this,  but  they  are  secretaries 
rather  than  chests  of  drawers  in  the  ordinary  sense.  The  general  idea  of  having  the 
drawer  fronts  enclosed  and  concealed  by  doors,   though  good  as  a  preventative  against 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

dust,  wu  more  commonly  intended  at  an  additional  ricmrnt  in  the  dignity  of  design  than 
as  a  utilitarian  device;  fur  dust  was  not  much  to  be  feared  in  the  small  towns  of  the 
seventeenth  century.      R.  S. 

Large  and  Miwiature  Chest  with  Drawer        .   212 

One  of  the  earliest  forms  of  the  piece  of  furniture  which  grew  into  the  modem  chest  of 
drawers,  called  in  French  Commode  (the  only  piece  of  furniture  out  of  rruny  which  has 
preserved  that  name),  and  in  the  United  States  generally  Bureau.  It  can  hardly  be  later 
than  the  year  1 700,  though  the  handles  and  scutcheons  are  more  recent.  As  for  the 
little  box  set  upon  it,  this,  whether  considered  as  a  child's  toy  or  as  a  convenience  fur 
toilet  articles,  may  be  of  any  date  from  1 700  to  1 800,  the  type  prevailing  longer  in  such 
small  objects.      R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  with  Drawer    .....   211 

Kot  unlike  that  illustrated  on  page  zti  except  that  the  somewhat  elaborate  panelling, 
with  nrtouldings  planted  on,  implies  an  origin  in  a  city  workman's  shop.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  the  piece  has  been  altered,  as  the  end,  with  a  very  elaborate  raised  panel 
apparently  boxed  out,  it  certainly  not  of  the  same  design  at  the  front.      R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  with  Drawers  .  .         .        facing   214 

And  the  usual  "well"  still  retaining  its  full  depth,  so  that,  with  the  rim  so  high,  it 
must  have  been  inconvenient  to  deal  with  the  objects  laid  upon  its  bottom.  The  orna- 
mentation by  applied  black-stained  half  balusters  and  half  ellipsoids  is  of  one  epoch,  the 
carving  of  the  central  panel  and  probably  of  the  side  panels  of  another.  There  is  some- 
thing extremely  attractive  in  the  sun-flowers  or  dahlias  sunk  into  the  wood  and  only 
tlightly  relieved  from  the  sinking,  and  it  would  be  pleasant  to  know  when  and  by  whom 
that  spirited  piece  of  carving  was  executed.      R.  S. 

Oak  Desk    ......        facing  216 

In  its  present  form  apparently  a  ivading  desk  but  chiefly  attractive  on  account  of  the  very 
unusual  carving  of  the  front.  The  date,  1684  and  the  initials  W.  H.  are  not  to  be 
overlooked.  The  way  in  which  these  and  the  scroll  ornaments  are  cut  out  and  the 
whole  surface  around  them  abated  and  punched  with  a  rude  point,  probably  a  large  nail, 
the  end  of  which  had  been  filed — speaks  of  the  up-country  carpenter  who  had  orders 
to  make  something  a  little  unusual.      R.  S. 

Carved  Oak  Chest      ....        facing  216 

Probably  not  later  than  1640,  and  carved  with  extraordinary  skill,  taste  .ind  ability. 
Such  comment  must  needs  be  relative;  the  work  lacks  in  grace  if  compared  with  Parisian 
work  of  the  period,  or  with  that  of  the  great  central  district  of  France,  Touraine  and 
Berri  and  as  ftr  east  as  Burgundy;  but  it  has  close  relations  to  the  work  of  the  seventeenth 
century  in  the  south  of  France,  and  is  singularly  bold  and  masterly  with  a  willingness  on 
the  part  of  the  workman  to  sink  deep  into  the  hard  wood,  producing  a  kind  of  counter- 
tunic  relief  or  cavo-relievo  which  it  unusual  in  tuch  work.      R.  S. 

Oak  Case  of  Drawers  .  .  .  .  .217 

One  of  the  most  unusual  character.  The  purpose  of  the  maker  in  providing  ten  drawers, 
no  one  of  which  is  of  length  sufficient  to  lay  a  gown  or  a  cloak  in  without  much  fold, 
ing,  is  a  putzle;  but  one  who  had  other  chests  of  drawers  would  find  this  a  valuable  piece. 
The  decoration  is  of  that  vexatious  sort  which  is  limited  to  the  planting  on  of  turned 
pilasters  and  worked  mouldings,  nor  can  anything  be  said  in  praise  of  the  piece  except  for 
the  general  character  of  its  proportions.      R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  of  Drawers        .  .  .  .         .218 

Quite  small  compued  with  that  thuwn  on  page  117.      R.  S. 

xi 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

rACE 

Chest,  or  "Nest,"  of  Drawers  .  .  .  .219 

And  a  very  drcp  well.  Such  pieces  as  this,  made  perhaps  of  apple  wood,  perhaps  of 
maple,  were  common  in  New  England  towns  and  were  usually  the  work  of  the  local  car- 
penter. It  is  nearly  always  impossible  to  date  them,  as  the  simple  mouldings  of  the 
drawers,  the  fronts  of  which  project  beyond  the  frame,  are  tradidoaally  copied  by  genera-  , 

tion  after  generation  of  workmen,  and  there  is  no  other  ornament  whatever.        R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  of  Drawers        .  .  .  .  .221 

With  the  unusual  added  convenience  of  a  hinged  and  dropping  leaf  at  each  end  with  an 
adjustable  bracket  to  support  it.  The  character  of  the  design  is  not  different  firoro  that 
of  several  pieces  illustrated  in  this  chapter.      R.  S. 

Kitchen  in  Whipple  House  .  .        facing    217 

Which  should  be  compared  with  that  in  Plate  I.  The  room  itself  is  of  vastly  greater  in- 
terest on  account  of  the  unaltered  and  unceiled  floor  overhead,  with  its  heavy  moulded 
timbers.  The  furniture  in  the  room  includes  an  excellent  table  with  one  dropping  leaf 
and  six  legs — at  least  there  is  no  evidence  of  there  having  been  another  leaf  with  two 
more  legs  on  the  side  nearest  the  spectator  \  chairs  of  about  1 700  and  oi  unusual  grace 
and  delicacy  of  design,  and  various  utensils  more  interesting  to  the  student  of  manners 
and  customs  than  to  the  artist.  Such  a  student  may  enjoy  the  coffee-pot  with  a  choice 
of  spouts,  one  spout  set  at  a  right  angle  to  the  handle  and  another  in  the  line  with  the 
handle,  so  that  the  mistress  of  the  house  can  pour  in  the  English  or  the  French  way  at 
pleasure.  In  this  room  the  partition  of  heavy  planks  should  be  noted;  each  plank  worked 
with  a  bevelled  edge  on  one  side  and  a  rabbet  and  moulded  tongue  on  the  other  side,  so 
that  they  fit  one  another  like  clapboards.      R.  S. 

Trunks  AND  Foot-warmers  .  .  .        facing   224 

(Compare  also  those  in  the  Hancock-Clarke  kitchen,  facing  page  155.)  The  cylindri- 
cal form  of  traveling  trunk  was  rare  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  convenient  for 
packing  on  horses  or  mules;  but  the  piece  in  question  is  a  little  too  elaborate  for  that  and 
suggests  rather  the  back  of  the  traveling  carriage  or  post-chaise.  The  design,  if  so  sim- 
ple a  composition  can  be  called  by  that  name,  with  large  brass  nails  holding  bands  of 
colored  leather  to  the  hair-covered  trunk,  is  full  of  interest.     R.  S. 

Oak  Chest  with  Drawers    .  .        facing   225 

Worked  all  over  with  very  slight  incisions  which,  though  the  manner  of  decoration  is 
feeble  and  the  forms  arbitrary,  non-traditional  and  without  purpose,  has  yet  a  pretty  ef- 
fect when  considered  as  a  covering  pattern — as  if  a  wall  paper  of  unusual  design  had  been 
applied  to  the  surface.      R.  S. 

Looking-glass  Frame  .  .  .  facing  230 

This  is  a  typical  olive-wood  frame  of  the  period. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  III 


THE   FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  III:  Early  Ne^w  England 

IMPORTED   AND    HOME-MADE    PIECES   OF   THE    SEVENTEENTH 

CENTURY 

HERE  is  a  general  impression  that  the  early 
settlers  of  New  England  were  a  somewhat 
fanatical  band  of  Pilgrims  who  left  the  van- 
ities of  the  world  behind  them  and  sought 
the  wilds  of  the  west  in  order  to  live  a 
simple  life  in  accordance  with  the  dictates 
of  their  own  conscience.  We  must  remember,  however, 
that  when  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  appeared,  half  a  century  had 
already  elapsed  since  the  Mayjiowerh^.d.  sailed,  and  therefore 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  can  scarcely  have  consciously  taken 
Bunyan's  humble  hero  as  a  model.  Many  of  them  were  far 
from  humble  in  station,  and  they  certainly  did  not  despise  the 
loaves,  and,  more  especially,  the  fishes  of  the  New  England 
coasts.  They  came  in  the  interests  of  a  trading  company. 
Freedom  of  worship,  moreover,  was  no  stronger  inducement 
to  many  to  come,  than  was  freedom  from  oppressive  taxa- 
tion.     Many  left  their  country  rather  than   pay  the   taxes, 

»S5 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  these  No  Subsidy  men  of  course  took  their  movables 
with  them,  or  had  them  sent  on  as  soon  as  they  were 
settled.  The  first  houses  were  small  and  rude  enough,  but 
very  soon  we  find  commodious  and  comfortable  dwellings 
filled  with  furniture  that  has  nothing  suggestive  of  the 
pioneer  or  backwoodsman.  A  thousand  pounds  was  a 
great  sum  of  money  in  those  days,  but  before  1650  there 
were  plenty  of  men  in  New  England  who  were  worth 
that  amount.  Some  were  even  more  wealthy.  In  1645, 
Thomas  Cortmore,  of  Charlestown,  died  worth  ^^  1,2 5 5. 
Humphrey  Chadburn,  of  York,  ^^1,713,  lived  till  ten 
years  later.  Joseph  Weld,  of  Roxbury,  owned  ^^2,028  in 
1 646,  and  the  possessions  of  F.  Brewster  and  T.  Eaton,  of 
New  Haven,  were  respectively  valued  at  ^1,000  and 
j^3,ooo  in  1643.  Opulent  Bostonians  who  were  all  dead 
by  1660  were  John  Coggan,  ;^i,339;  John  Cotton, 
^1,038;  John  Clapp,  ^1,506;  Thomas  Dudley,  ^1,560; 
Captain  George  Dell,  ^1,506;  William  Paddy,  ^^2,221; 
Captain  William  Tinge,  ^^2,774  ;  Robert  Keayne,  ^3,000 ; 
John  Holland,  j^3, 325  ;  William  Paine,  ^4,230;  Henry 
Webb,  ^7,819;  and  Jacob  Sheafe,  ^8,528.  It  would  be 
an  error  to  assume  that  the  bulk  of  this  wealth  was  due  to 
wide  domains,  for  the  average  plantations  in  New  England 
were  very  small  in  comparison  to  those  in  the  South.  As  a 
rule,  the  personalty  far  exceeded  the  realty;  land,  more- 
over, was  cheap.  George  Phillips  will  serve  as  a  type  of 
the  prosperous  class  of  Boston  in  the  early  days.  He  died 
in  1644.  His  estate  was  appraised  at  j[S52-  Of  this,  the 
dwelling-house,  barn,  outhouse  and  fifteen  acres  of  land 
only  amounted  to  ^120,  whereas  the  study  of  books  alone 
was  worth  ^71-9-0.  The  house  contained  a  parlour, 
hall,  parlour  chamber,  kitchen  chamber,  kitchen  and  dairy. 

IS6 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  hall  was  furnished  with  a  table,  two  stools  and  a  chest. 
The  parlour  contained  a  high  curtained  bedstead  with 
feather  bed,  a  long  table,  two  stools,  two  chairs  and  a  chest 
(all  made  comfortable  with  six  cushions)  and  a  valuable 
silver  "salt"  with  spoons.  In  the  other  rooms  were  five 
beds,  four  chests,  two  trunks,  one  table,  one  stool,  bed  and 
table  linen,  and  kitchen  stuff.  A  good  example  of  a 
kitchen,  that  of  the  Hancock  House,  Lexington,  Mass., 
faces  page  155. 

William  Goodrich,  of  Watertown  (died  1647),  is  an 
example  of  the  settler  of  moderate  means.  His  furniture 
is  evidently  of  the  plainest  kind  and  probably  made  by  a 
local  joiner,  since  his  cupboard,  chest,  two  boxes,  chair- 
table,  joint  stool,  plain  chair  and  cowl,  are  valued  at  only 
eighteen  shillings,  while  the  flock  bed  with  its  furnishings 
is  appraised  at  ^^5-4-0.  The  latter,  however,  is  worth 
more  than  half  as  much  as  his  dwelling  house  and  five  and 
one-half  acres  of  planting  land  in  the  township,  three  acres 
of  remote  meadow  and  twenty-five  acres  of  "divident," 
which  total  only  j[io  altogether. 

The  wealth  of  the  settlers  consisted,  in  many  cases,  of 
"English  goods"  including  all  kinds  of  clothing,  cotton, 
linen,  woolen  and  silk  stufl^s;  and  tools,  implements,  ves- 
sels and  utensils  of  iron,  pewter,  brass,  wood  and  earthen- 
ware. It  is  surprising,  however,  on  scanning  the  numer- 
ous inventories  of  merchandise,  to  see  how  few  articles  of 
furniture  were  on  sale  in  the  various  stores.  The  mani- 
fest conclusion  is  that  such  furniture  as  was  not  brought 
in  by  the  immigrants  was  either  specially  made  here  or 
ordered  from  local  or  foreign  agents.  Henry  Shrimpton, 
of  Boston,  who  died  in  1666  with  an  estate  of  j^*  12,000, 
had  goods   to   the  value   of  about   ^£^3,300  to    supply  the 

«S7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

needs  of  the  community,  but  practically  none  of  his  stock 
was  wooden  furniture. 

Thomas  Morton,  writing  in  1632,  says:  "Handicrafts- 
men there  were  but  few,  the  Tumelor  or  Cooper,  Smiths 
and  Carpenters  are  best  welcome  amongst  them,  shopkeep- 
ers there  are  none,  being  supplied  by  the  Massachusetts 
merchants  with  all  things  they  stand  in  need  of,  keeping 
here  and  there  fair  magazines  stored  with  English  goods, 
but  they  set  excessive  prices  on  them,  if  they  do  not  gain 
Cent  per  Cent,  they  cry  out  that  they  are  losers." 

The  first  houses  at  Plymouth  were  constructed  of 
rough-hewn  timber  with  thatched  roofs  and  window  panes 
of  oiled  paper.  The  chimneys  were  raised  outside  the 
walls,  and  the  hearths  laid  and  faced  with  stones  and  clay. 
Edward  Winslow,  who  next  to  Bradford  was  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  colony,  writes  in  1621  :  "In  this  little  time 
that  a  few  of  us  have  been  here,  we  have  built  seven  dwell- 
ing houses  and  four  for  the  use  of  the  plantation,  and  have 
made  preparations  for  divers  others."  In  the  same  letter 
he  enjoins  his  friend  to  bring  plenty  of  clothes  and  bed- 
ding, fowling-pieces  and  "  paper  and  linseed  oil  for  your 
windows  with  cotton  yarn  for  your  lamps." 

Quite  early,  however,  imported  glass  was  used  in  the 
windows.  In  1629,  Higginson  writes  from  Salem  to  his 
friends  in  England :  "  Be  sure  to  furnish  yourselves  with 
glass  for  windows." 

Framed  houses  were  constructed  very  early.  Roger 
Conant  had  one  that  was  taken  down  and  re-erected  at 
Salem  on  his  removal  thither  in  1628.  These  dwellings  of 
course  were  always  in  danger  on  account  of  the  "  great  fires  " 
necessitated  by  the  severe  winter.  Brick  therefore  was  made 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  then  the  house  was  built  around  a 

158 


■ 


CARVED    OAK    CUPBOARD 

ChuHtd  by  Mr.  flatter  Hosmtr^  IVetbtrtfitU^  Ctmt.     Set  pagt  j6j. 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

central  chimney  stack,  big  and  solid.  Before  long  also, 
some  houses  were  built  entirely  of  brick,  and  glass  took 
the  place  of  paper  in  the  windows.     Glass   works  were 


SETTLE    WITH    TABLE    TOP 
Owned  by  Mr.  Jamo  Floyd  RuskU,  Lexington,  Mi 


established  at  Salem  before  1638,  and  the  glazier  appears 
among  the  lists  of  artisans.  In  1652  |ames  Browne,  gla- 
zier, sold  a  parcel  of  land  in  Charlestown.  William 
Wardell's  **  glass  window,  seven  foot  and  the  frame,"  was 

•59 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

appraised  at  seven  shillings  in  1 670.  The  towns  regulated 
matters  relating  to  the  dwellings.  In  the  town  records  of 
Boston  are  many  entries  showing  the  care  exercised :  "  Oc- 
tober 26,  1636.  Thomas  Mount  shall  have  leave  to  fence 
in  a  peece  of  the  marsh  before  his  house  for  the  makeing 
of  brick  in."  In  1658,  John  Conney  presumed  to  set  up 
a  kiln  without  permission  and  was  enjoined.  The  same 
year  we  find  an  order  against  the  practice  of  carrying  fire 
"from  one  house  into  another  in  open  fire  pans  or  brands 
ends  by  reason  of  which  great  damage  may  accrew  to  the 
towne."      In  1648,  permission  is  given  to  build  porches. 

The  abundant  woods  of  oak,  ash,  elm,  walnut,  maple, 
cedar  and  pine  supplied  all  that  was  required  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  houses  and  their  furniture.  Thomas  Mor- 
ton, writing  in  1632,  says  of  the  red  cedar:  "This  wood 
cuts  red  and  is  good  for  bedsteads,  tables  and  chests,  and 
may  be  placed  in  the  catelogue  of  commodities."  He 
also  praises  the  red  oak  "for  wainscot."  "There  is  like- 
wise black  Walnut  of  precious  use  for  Tables,  Cabinets 
and  the  like." 

House-building  was  of  course  the  first  task  of  the 
settlers.  A  "great  house"  had  already  been  built  in 
Charlestown  in  1629,  and  here  the  Governor  and  some  of 
the  patentees  dwelt.  "The  multitude  set  up  cottages, 
booths  and  tents  about  the  town  hall." 

The  outfit  of  the  average  immigrant  was  a  very  simple 
one  and  the  wealthier  settlers  brought  in  the  original  ships 
only  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  a  rough  existence.  The 
finer  furniture  followed  as  soon  as  the  reasonable  prospect 
of  permanent  settlement  warranted.  Chests  and  chairs 
that  came  with  the  first  arrivals  are  still  in  existence. 

One  of  these  is  owned  by  the  Connecticut  Historical 

160 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


OAK    CHEST 
Now  in  the  Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  Mass. 


Society  in  Hartford,  having  been  brought  over  in  the 
Mayjioiver  by  William  Brewster  the  Elder.  It  is  a  per- 
fectly plain  chest  of  painted  pine  with  plain  iron  handles. 
A  list  of  necessaries  for  the  voyage  in  1629  includes: 
"  Fifty  mats  to  be  under  50  beds  on  board  ship,  50  rugs, 
50  pr.  blankets  of  Welsh  cotton,  100  pr.  sheets,  50  bed 
ticks  and  bolsters  with  wool  to  put  in  them  and  Scotch 
ticking." 

A  typical  oak  chest  of  the  period,  brought  from  Eng- 
land in  the  ship  Lyon  about  1637,  was  presented  to  the 
Historical  Society  of  Rhode  Island  by  William  Field,  of 
Pomfret,  Conn.,  and  is  now  in  the  rooms  of  this  society  in 
Providence,  R.  I.  It  belonged  originally  to  the  Field 
family.  The  old  oak  chest  in  the  accompanying  illustra- 
tion is  now  in  the  Whipple  House  at  Ipswich,  Mass. 


161 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

An  example  of  an  immigrant  whose  possessions  were 
not  limited  to  the  bare  necessaries  of  an  indentured  servant 
is  offered  by  Peter  Branch,  who  died  on  the  Castle  on  the 
voyage  to  New  England  in  1639.  Besides  clothes  and 
tools,  he  had  a  lot  of  household  linen,  six  cushions,  feather 
bedding,  twenty-seven  shillings'  worth  of  red  wine,  and 
several  trunks  and  chests.  The  total  value  of  his  goods 
was  about  ;^34. 

Public  and  private  interests  frequently  required  per- 
sonal attention  in  England,  and  therefore  there  was  much 
voyaging  back  and  forth.  On  their  return,  the  travellers 
would  naturally  bring  articles  that  were  dearest,  or  hardest 
to  get  in  the  colonies.  All  the  products  of  the  loom  were 
especially  profitable,  as  were  also  all  kinds  of  wrought 
metal.  Returning  travellers  brought  home  presents  for 
their  families  just  as  they  do  to-day.  On  his  return  from  a 
visit  to  England  in  1689,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Sewall,  the 
famous  diarist,  had  aboard  the  America  three  small  trunks 
carved  with  the  initials  of  his  children's  names  and  the 
year  of  their  birth;  a  barrel  of  books,  a  sea-chest,  a  bed 
quilt  and  four  blankets,  a  large  trunk  marked  H.  S.  witL 
nails,  two  other  trunks,  a  deal  box  of  linen,  a  small  case  of 
liquors  and  a  great  case  of  bottles. 

The  dangers  and  discomforts  of  a  voyage  at  that  day 
were  extreme.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Sewall  paid 
two  shillings  and  nine  pence  for  "a  bed  of  straw  to  lay 
under  my  feather  bed"  for  the  voyage  back  to  Boston. 
Perhaps  the  most  calamitous  venture  in  the  early  days  of 
New  England  was  that  of  the  Great  Ship  which  carried 
large  investments  of  many  members  of  the  New  Haven 
colony  and  some  of  its  most  prominent  personages,  includ- 
ing Captain  Turner,   Mr.   Gregson,  Mr.    Lamberton   and 

ifo 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Mrs.  Goodyear.  The  Great  Ship  was  of  only  i6o  tons 
burden ;  she  sailed  in  1 646  and  was  never  heard  of  again. 
The  loss  nearly  ruined  the  little  colony  and  so  profoundly 
impressed  the  popular  imagination  that  the  vessel's  phan- 
tom became  a  local  legend. 

The  inventories  of  the  estates  of  those  who  were  lost 
in  this  disaster  afford  a  clear  view  of  the  household  goods 
of  prominent  people  of  the  early  days  of  the  colony. 
George  Lamberton  was  worth  ^f  1,200.  He  was  especially 
rich  in  linen  (including  80  napkins),  bed  covering,  "car- 
pets," cupboard,  table,  board  and  chimney  cloths.  He 
also  owned  down  and  feather  beds  with  "  curtains,  valence 
and  stuff  for  hangings;"  i  silk,  4  window  and  8  other 
cushions;  needlework  for  a  cupboard  cloth,  ^^i-io-o;  sil- 
ver plate  to  the  value  of  ;^36;  4  chests,  2  trunks  and  6 
boxes;  11  chairs  and  5  stools;  i  square,  i  round  and  i 
drawing  table;  a  case  of  boxes,  a  cupboard,  and  fire-irons 
and  andirons.  A  globe  with  a  Turkey  covering  was  worth 
the  large  sum  of  £j  \  and  the  dwelling,  lot,  etc.,  with 
outhouses  and  pump  was  valued  at  ;f  255. 

The  above-mentioned  cupboard,  adorned  with  bright 
cloths  and  silver  plate,  is  found  in  practically  every  house- 
hold of  the  day.  A  fine  specimen  of  carved  oak,  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer,  of  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  is 
represented  both  open  and  shut  (see  frontispiece  and 
facing  page  158).  It  was  called  the  "court  cupboard," 
"press  cupboard,"  or,  simply,  "cupboard."  The  present 
example  was  probably  brought  in  by  one  of  the  first 
settlers,  for  the  upper  part  has  the  half  hexagon  shape 
of  many  of  the  Elizabethan  pieces.  (See  plate  facing 
page  36.) 

Mr.  Thomas  Gregson's  house  had  seven  or  eight  rooms. 

163 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  hall  contained  a  table  with  carpet,  a  form,  a  chair,  2 
covered  chairs,  4  low  and  5  joint  stools,  a  clock  and  a  great 
chest.  The  chimney  was  furnished  with  andirons,  shovel, 
tongs,  an  iron  crane  and  hooks.  Two  window  cushions 
made  an  additional  comfortable  seat.  The  other  rooms  con- 
tained eight  flock  and  feather  beds  with  curtains,  rods,  etc.; 
there  were  "hangings  for  the  chamber,"  window  curtains, 
and  ample  bed,  table  and  household  linen.  Books  to  the 
value  of  ^2-5-0,  silver  plate  (33  oz.),  jj  lbs.  of  pewter 
and  a  warming-pan  are  also  found.  The  parlour  was  fur- 
nished with  two  tables  (one  of  which  was  round)  one  car- 
pet, one  cupboard  and  cloth,  eight  chairs  with  four  green 
cushions  and  thirteen  stools,  four  window  cushions,  ten  cur- 
tains, and  andirons,  hooks,  fire-irons,  etc.  The  house  also 
contained  another  table  and  cupboard.  The  estate  totalled 
^490,  the  house  being  worth  about  ^148. 

Mrs.  Goodyear  was  the  wife  of  the  Governor,  who  sur- 
vived her  twelve  years.  His  inventory  (1658),  with  a  total 
of  ^^804-9- 10,  also  shows  much  comfort  and  elegance. 
Coverings,  "  carpets,"  hangings,  cloths,  curtains,  cushions 
and  linen  abound.  The  seats  comprise  **  three  covered 
chairs,  a  great  chair,  twelve  lesser  chairs,  a  little  chair, 
stools,  six  stools,  six  joined  stools  and  two  plain  forms." 
Besides  curtained  beds,  the  furniture  included  chests,  trunks, 
a  chest  of  drawers,  a  cupboard,  a  court  cupboard,  a  side 
cupboard,  a  "screetore,"  a  drawing  table,  a  long  "draw 
table,"  two  round  and  two  small  tables.  Brass  andirons, 
silver  plate,  and  the  usual  pewter  and  kitchen  stuff  in  suffi- 
cient quantity  are  also  found. 

The  "great  chair,"  above  mentioned,  was  undoubt- 
edly similar  to  the  one  opposite,  which  is  a  massive 
piece  of  furniture  of  turned  and  carved  oak.      The  joints 

164 


CARVED  OAK  CHAIR 

Bmught  to  fpswich  in  i6j4.     thimeii  by  the  Essex  Institute,  Su/em,  Afass.    See  fiaj^e  tdj. 


JUk 

'*' ^vR^^tV^^^E. 

jAi 

'.^»   ^^/^Kl^^v  "^ 

%   !,  ^Ir'MrR^^J  1^^ 

> 

^'^M.)>'^kL 

^^^PlH^H 

1  "^  «  A^V^gV  ^fc 

iW 

^^%^S 

^Ha 

Illy 

^M 

5   :i 

1*         '    T 

r 

J 

ipi 

M 

1 

^^^^^^Hl 

lyi! 

'-  ^^^^^^^B 

'■ii 

^a 

1 

n 

I  ■ 

^^^^^^1 

1 

J 

^^^^^^^^^^^H 

■ 

^t 

1 

^ 

CLOCK    WITH   JAPANNED    CASE 

Made  in  England.    O-ivned  by  Mr.  IValter  Hosmer, 
Wethersfield^  Conn.      See  page  lyi. 


BRASS  CLOCK  WITHOUT  CASE 

O'wned  by  Mr.  Henry  Fitz.  IVaterj^  SaUfn^  Mass. 
See  page  JJ2. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

are  mortised  and  tenoned  and  held  together  with  wooden 
pegs.  This  kind  of  "baronial  oak"  was  still  found  in  many 
houses  during  the  Jacobean  period.  The  desirability  of  the 
ever  present  cushion  is  very  evident.  This  handsome 
specimen  was  brought  to  Ipswich  by  the  Dennis  family  in 
1634,  and  was  presented  by  Mr.  Robert  Brookhouse  to  the 
Essex  Historical  Society,  Salem,  Mass.,  in  i  82 1 .  A  similar 
chair,  which  differs  only  in  carving  and  inlay,  is  owned  by 
Mr.  John  J.  Bingley,  of  Hanover,  Penn.  An  oak  chair 
said  to  have  been  brought  into  the  country  in  the  Hector 
in  1633,  among  the  possessions  of  the  first  emigrants  to 
Newbury,  is  owned  by  Miss  Poore  at  Indian  Hilly  near 
Newburyport,  Mass. 

Mr.  Francis  Brewster,  another  of  the  early  notabilities 
of  New  Haven,  died  in  1647,  when  the  colony  had 
already  lost  much  of  its  prosperity.  His  estate  was  valued 
at  jCsSS,  whereas  four  years  before  it  had  been  valued  at 
jf  1,000.  In  the  Great  Ship  he  had  lost  ^50.  His  "house, 
home  lot,  and  all  the  farm"  were  appraised  at  j[200.  His 
furniture  was  not  especially  rich,  though  by  no  means 
plain.  An  East  India  quilt  and  an  East  India  cabinet  and 
some  blue  dishes  show  the  intercourse  with  the  neighbour- 
ing Dutch  settlement  of  New  Amsterdam,  which  was  a 
great  emporium  for  Oriental  goods,  as  will  appear  in  our 
next  section.  Besides  the  beds  and  a  good  deal  of  linen  and 
pewter,  the  most  noticeable  articles  are  a  looking-glass,  four 
window  cushions,  five  other  cushions,  and  three  blue  chairs. 
The  only  other  seats  mentioned  are  three  stools.  He  also 
has  "two  old  sackbuts."  He  was  connected  with  our  next 
example.  Fear  Brewster  having  been  married  to  Isaac  AUcr- 
ton  in  1626. 

Isaac  Allerton,  the  enterprising  and  restless  gentleman 

«6s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

trader,  fifth  signer  of  the  Mayflower  compact,  lived  in 
Plymouth,  New  York,  Virginia,  and,  finally.  New  Haven. 
There  he  had  a  **  grand  house  on  the  creek  with  four 
porches."  When  it  was  pulled  down  the  workmen  reported 
that  the  timber  was  all  of  the  finest  oak  and  the  "  best  of 
joiners  had  placed  it  in  position."  At  his  death  in  1658, 
his  estate  only  amounted  to  ^i  18-5-2.  The  furniture  was 
small  in  quantity,  though  by  no  means  common.  It 
included  a  great  chair  and  two  other  chairs,  a  draw  table 
and  a  form,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  small  old  table,  five  cush- 
ions, carpets,  beds,  five  brass  candlesticks,  and  the  usual 
pewter,  andirons,  etc. 

A  fine  example  of  the  most  fashionable  table  at  this 
period  faces  page  160.  It  was  originally  one  of  the 
varieties  of  small  "drawing  tables."  The  top  slab  is 
comparatively  new.  The  great  bulbs  in  the  legs  are  black 
with  the  favourite  ebony  effect  found  in  all  the  drawing 
tables  and  so  many  of  the  old  bedsteads.  This  is  a  rare 
specimen,  as  the  table  with  a  drawer  seldom  occurs  in  the 
New  England  inventories  so  early  as  this.  It  was  brought 
to  Salem  by  John  Pickering  in  1636,  and  has  been  in  the 
present  Pickering  house  ever  since  it  was  built  in  1650, 
where  it  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  John  Pickering. 

Governor  Theophilus  Eaton,  who  was  for  so  long  the 
dominant  figure  in  the  New  Haven  Colony,  had  a  very  fine 
home  for  his  numerous  family.  He  died  in  1658,  and  we 
cannot  find  a  better  example  of  a  man  of  wealth  and  posi- 
tion. Unlike  the  majority  of  so  many  houses  of  the  day,  his 
hall  contained  no  bed.  We  find  two  tables,  one  round  and 
one  "drawing";  the  latter  was  attended  with  two  long 
forms.  Then  there  were  two  high  and  four  low  chairs, 
four  high  and  two  low  stools,  and  six  high  joint  stools.  To 

166 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

make  these  comfortable,  there  were  six  green  and  four  set- 
work  cushions.  A  livery,  or  court,  cupboard  stood  against 
the  wall  and  was  covered  with  a  cloth  and  cushions.  There 
were  two  fireplaces  in  the  hall,  garnished  with  one  large 
and  one  small  pair  of  brass  andirons,  tongs,  fire  pans,  and 
bellows.  The  tables  were  adorned  with  two  Turkey  car- 
pets. There  was  also  "a  great  chair  with  needlework." 
Other  articles  mentioned  are  a  pewter  cistern  and  a  can- 
dlestick. The  livery  cupboard  above  mentioned  was  prob- 
ably the  "dresser"  against  which  the  Governor's  violent 
wife  thumped  her  step-daughter's  (Mistress  Mary's)  head, 
according  to  the  servant's  evidence  at  the  lady's  trial. 

The  parlour  contained  a  bedstead  and  trundle  bed,  with 
curtains  and  bedding,  a  great  table,  a  livery  cupboard,  a 
high  and  a  low  chair,  six  high  stools  with  green  and  red 
covers,  two  low  stools  and  the  usual  brass  chimney  ware. 

"  Mr.  Eaton's  chamber "  contained  a  canopy  bed 
with  feather  bedding,  curtains,  and  valance,  a  little  cup- 
board with  drawers,  another  bed,  bedding  and  curtains, 
two  chests,  a  box,  and  two  cases  of  bottles,  a  desk,  two 
chairs,  three  high  joint  stools  and  three  low  stools.  The 
room  had  hangings,  and  curtains  were  at  the  windows. 
The  hearth  had  its  usual  appointments  of  brass,  and  an 
iron  back. 

Other  apartments  included  the  "Green  Chamber,"  in 
which  the  table  and  cupboard  cloths,  carpets,  cushions  and 
curtains  were  green  and  some  of  them  laced  and  fringed. 
There  were  also  Turkey-work  and  needlework  cushions 
and  rich  hangings  about  the  chamber.  A  bedstead  with 
down  bedding  and  tapestry  covering,  a  great  chair,  two 
little  ones,  six  low  stools,  a  looking-glass,  a  couch  and 
appurtenances,  a  short  table,  a  cypress  chest  and  a  valuable 

167 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

"cubbord  with  drawers"  were  also  found  here.  The  fire- 
place with  brass  furnishings  was  not  wanting. 

The  "Blue  Chamber"  was  also  plentifully  furnished, 
the  hangings,  rugs  and  curtains  being  of  the  same  hue. 

A  great  deal  of  household  linen  was  kept  here  in  two 
trunks,  an  iron-bound  case,  and  a  great  cupboard  with 
drawers,  which  was  worth  half  as  much  again  as  the  one 
in  the  **  Green  Chamber." 

There  were  three  other  chambers  besides  the  kitchen 
and  counting-house,  all  sufficiently  furnished.  The  count- 
ing-house contained  "  a  cupboard  with  a  chest  of  drawers," 
which  was  the  most  expensive  article  of  furniture  in  the 
house,  being  valued  at  ^4,  a  square  table,  a  chair,  and 
two  iron-bound  chests,  besides  some  other  trifles.  The  house 
contained  china,  earthenware,  pewter,  silver  plate,  .and  the 
usual  kitchen  stuff;  and  some  books,  a  globe  and  a  map 
valued  at  ^48-15-0  also  occur.  The  total  amounted  to 
^1,440-15-0.  The  decline  of  prosperity  had  afl^scted  the 
Governor,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  community, 
since  in  1643  his  possessions  had  been  valued  at  ^3,000. 

The  great  cupboard  with  drawers  in  the  **  Blue  Cham- 
ber," as  well  as  those  in  the  "  Green  Chamber,"  cannot 
be  better  illustrated  than  by  the  example,  belonging  to 
Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mass,,-  and  shown  on  page 
169,  the  panelling  and  applied  black  spindle  ornaments  of 
which  were  in  great  favour,  during  this  period,  for  cup- 
boards as  well  as  for  chests  and  chests  of  drawers.  These 
ornaments  were  often  made  of  maple  and  stained  black  to 
represent  ebony.  When  brass  trimmings  are  found,  these 
are  often  later  additions,  as  the  handles  were  generally 
wooden  knobs  in  character  with  the  spindles.  In  most  of 
the  cupboards,  chests,  etc.,  the  drawers  are  not  in  pairs,  as 

168 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

they  appear,  and  as  the  knobs  and  divisions  would  seem  to 
show,  but  are  one  long  drawer,  as  in  this  example.  (See 
also  facing  page  214.)  The  compartments  above  and  below 
the  middle  drawer  are  rttted  with  shelves.  A  glance  at  this 
plate  will  make  perfectly  clear  what  is  meant  by  the  fre- 
quent mention  of  plate 
and  porcelain  on  the 
cupboard,  in  the  cup- 
board, and  on  the 
cupboard  head.  The 
cupboard  has  already 
been  defined  on  pages 
22  and  36. 

The  household 
possessions,  already 
enumerated,  afford 
ample  evidence  that 
comfort  and  elegance 
were  by  no  means  rare 
in  the  New  England 
home  during  the  reign 
of  Charles  I.  The 
fanatical  Puritan,  with 
his  hatred  of  images 
and  idolatrous  pictures 

and  carving,  was  not  yet  in  full  control.  England  was  still 
the  principal  battle-ground,  and  on  the  execution  of  the 
King  in  1649,  the  colonies  received  a  large  inHux  of  fugi- 
tive Royalists,  followed  in  turn  by  Cromwell's  followers  at 
the  Restoration  eleven  years  later.  Domestic  carved  oak 
naturally  shared  somewhat  in  the  disgrace  into  which  eccle- 
siastical art  work  had   fallen   in   Puritanical   minds.      The 


OAK    CUPBOARD    WITH    DRAWERS 
In  the  huuse  i>f  Mr.  Charlrs  R.  WMett,  Sal«m,  Man. 


169 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bare  walls  and  hideous  plaster  ceiling,  for  which  our  thanks 
are  still  due  to  the  Puritan  iconoclasts,  doubtless  extended 
their  severe  influence  to  the  furniture  in  a  "root-and- 
branch"  community.  Anything  that  recalled  the  carved 
rood  screens,  high  altars,  or  choir  stalls,  would  be  objec- 
tionable, and  so  the  great  carved  oak  chairs,  chests,  livery 
cupboards,  cabinets,  etc.,  became  unpopular  with  this  class 
on  both  sides  of  the  water,  and  Dutch  influences  in  furni- 
ture reached  New  England  through  Leyden  and  New  Am- 
sterdam even  before  the  style  accompanied  William  of 
Orange  into  Old  England.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  how- 
ever, that  all  were  of  the  same  mind.  New  England  was 
not  settled  exclusively  by  Nonconformists  and  schismatics. 
Roger  Conant  was  a  good  type  of  the  Episcopalian,  and  Sir 
Christopher  Gardiner  was  as  dissolute  and  turbulent  as  the 
average  cavalier  was  reputed  to  be  by  the  godly.  Men  of 
birth  and  breeding,  men  accustomed  to  courts  and  kings' 
chambers,  men  of  means  and  respectability,  were  by  no 
means  the  exception  in  the  various  settlements.  Sir  Harry 
Vane  was  only  a  sojourner  in  the  land ;  but  the  Saltonstalls 
were  aristocratic  settlers.  Ladies  of  title  also  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  cross  the  seas  and  incur  the  hardships  and  dangers 
of  a  frontier  life.  Among  others  there  was  Lady  Arabella 
Johnson,  the  daughter  of  an  English  earl.  She,  however, 
died  at  Salem  within  a  month  of  her  arrival,  in  August, 
1630;  and  her  husband  soon  followed  her.  Lady  Susan 
Humfrey,  sister  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  also  arrived  at 
Boston  in  1634.  It  was  not  poverty  that  brought  them 
here.  Then  there  was  Lady  Moody,  a  cousin  of  Sir  H. 
Vane,  who  came  to  Salem  in  1639.  Unfortunately,  she 
seriously  difl^ered  with  the  local  authorities  on  the  subject 
of  baptism  and  found  it  convenient  to  proceed  further  be- 

170 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

fore  very  long.  In  1643  she  went  to  Gravesend  (L.  I.), 
and  died  there  in  1659.  Isaac  Allerton  successfully  steered 
his  political  craft  through  the  shoals  and  breakers  of  the 
corrupt  Stuart  court ;  and  Brewster  had  been  with  Secretary 
Davison  before  he  fell  into  disgrace  with  the  Virgin  Queen. 
Men  of  position,  wealth  and  learning  came  to  New  Eng- 
land in  considerable  numbers. 

In  1638  Winthrop  notes  in  his  diary:  "Many  ships 
arrived  this  year,  with  people  of  good  quality  and  estate, 
notwithstanding  the  Council's  order  that  none  such  should 
come  without  the  King's  order."  Among  those  who  in- 
tended to  come,  history  mentions  Oliver  Cromwell  himvself 
If  he  had  not  been  prevented,  Charles  I.  might  not  have 
lost  his  head.  Some  of  those  who  arrived  were  quite 
wealthy :  Thomas  Flint,  of  Concord,  brought  in  an  estate 
of  J^^iyOOO.  Numerous  inventories  show  that  this  class  of 
settlers  was  not  satisfied  with  such  primitive  furniture  as 
could  be  constructed  with  a  hammer,  board  and  nails. 
"Baronial  oak,"  plate,  pictures,  clocks,  fine  linen,  tapestry 
and  other  hangings  testify  of  luxury  in  addition  to  mere  con- 
venience. It  is  noticeable  too  that  even  ministers  of  the  Cjos- 
pel  would  "  manage  to  submit  to  these  luxurious  superflui- 
ties." The  Rev.  John  Norton's  inventory  (Boston,  1663) 
amounted  to  j('2, 095-3-0.  Among  his  numerous  posses- 
sions were  729  books,  ^('300 ;  i  32  oz.  of  plate,  ^^ 33  :  a  case 
of  drawers  containing  English  and  Spanish  coins,  ^^135; 
and  a  clock  and  case  in  the  parlour.  Another  divine  who 
owned  something  beyond  his  staff  and  scrip  was  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Haines,  of  Hartford.       In    1679,  his  estate  totalled 

j^'2,2So. 

Mr.  Norton's  clock  and  case  is  a  very  early  instance  of 
the  tall  clock.      An  early  example  of  one  with  a  japanned 

»7« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

case  faces  page  i68.  According  to  the  name  on  the  dial, 
it  was  made  by  Thomas  Gardner,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  London  Society  of  Clockmakers  in  1687.  This  speci- 
men belongs  to  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer,  Wethersfield,  Conn. 
The  brass  clock  without  case  is  of  earlier  date.  It  was 
made  by  Jno.  Snatt,  of  Ashford,  and  belongs  to  Mr.  Henry 
Fitz  Waters,  Salem,  Mass. 

Evidence  of  "  bravery,"  fashion  and  other  worldly 
vanities  are  plainly  visible  in  New  England  during  the 
seventeenth  century,  despite  the  efforts  of  the  city  fathers 
to  repress  such  forms  of  sin.  The  pursuit  of  worldly 
pleasure  gave  great  trouble  to  the  patriarchs.  The  taste 
for  elegance  in  the  home,  or  the  love  of  fine  linen,  was 
not  left  behind  in  England  by  all  the  pilgrims,  by  any 
means.  An  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Winthrop  in 
1630  shows  how  serious  the  evil  was  in  some  cases.  "A 
godly  woman  of  the  church  of  Boston,  dwelling  sometime 
in  London,  brought  with  her  a  parcel  of  very  fine  linen  of 
great  value,  which  she  set  her  heart  too  much  upon,  and 
had  been  at  charge  to  have  it  all  newly  washed  and  cur- 
iously folded  and  pressed,  and  so  left  it  in  the  press  in  her 
parlour  over  night.  She  had  a  negro  maid  who  went  into 
the  room  very  late,  and  let  fall  some  snuff  of  the  candle 
upon  the  linen,  so  as  by  morning  all  the  linen  was  burned 
to  tinder,  and  the  boards  underneath,  and  some  stools  and 
a  part  of  the  wainscot  burned,  and  never  perceived  by  any 
in  the  house,  though  some  lodged  in  the  chamber  over- 
head, and  no  ceiling  between.  But  it  pleased  God  that  the 
loss  of  this  linen  did  her  much  good,  both  in  taking  off  her 
heart  from  worldly  comforts,  and  in  preparing  her  for  a  far 
greater  affliction  by  the  untimely  death  of  her  husband, 
who  was  slain  not  long  after  at  Isle  of  Providence." 

17a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  press  mentioned  above  is  plainly  not  a  press  cup- 
board, so  often  occurring  in  the  inventories,  but  the  screw- 
press  which  is  still  used  in  some  modern  households  for 
keeping  the  linen  smooth.  The  linen  must  have  been  ex- 
posed for  the  maid  to  be  able  to  drop  candle  snuff  upon  it. 
The  "boards  underneath"  also  show  what  it  was. 

Skilled  craftsmen  were  among  the  immigrants,  not 
merely  carpenters  and  housewrights,  but  turners,  joiners, 
cabinet-makers  and  even  carvers ;  and  these  men  were 
quite  capable  of  making  all  the  furniture  in  fashion  from 
the  excellent  and  varied  timber  that  abounded  in  the  woods. 
The  principal  woods  used  were  oak,  ash,  elm,  walnut, 
maple  and  pine.  Red  cedar  also  frequently  occurs.  As 
new  fashions  were  introduced  from  abroad,  they  were 
copied  here,  and  the  constant  arrivals  of  English  and 
foreign  workmen  rendered  importations  unnecessary  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  what  only  the  rich  could  afford.  Even 
the  joiners  seem  to  have  produced  most  of  their  work  to 
order  and  to  have  kept  a  modest  stock.  As  an  example,  we 
may  take  David  Saywell,  who  died  in  Boston  in  1672.  He 
was  an  Englishman  who  came  from  Salisbury.  His  goods 
on  sale  consisted  of  "  new  bedsteads,  32  shillings  ;  10  joint 
stools  and  6  chair  frames,  ^f  2  ;  24  pairs  of  iron  screws  and 
nuts,  j^2-8-o;  glue,  3  shillings;  2  chests,  3  tables,  i  cup- 
board, 2  desks,  2  boxes,  2  cabinets  and  some  new  work  in 
the  shop  not  finished;  working  tools,  a  lathe  and  benches 
in  the  shop,  £^;  boards  and  timber  in  the  yard,  j[i4.." 
John  Scotton,  another  joiner  of  the  same  township  (died 
1678),  had  in  his  shop:  4  boxes,  7  shillings;  3  chests,  18 
shillings;  2  bedsteads,  ^f  1-12-0;  i  chest  with  drawers,  ^f  3 ; 
and  boards,  plank,  timber  and  joiner's  tools  to  the  value  of 
^20-6-5.     Three  pounds  was  quite  a  high  price  for  a  chest 

»73 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  drawers  at  that  day,  and  shows  that  it  must  have  been 
an  unusually  fine  piece  of  workmanship. 

An  example  of  an  ornate  chest  with  drawers  of  native 
manufacture  faces  page  1 76.  It  consists  of  two  long 
drawers  beneath  a  roomy  well,  the  whole  supported  by  four 
plain  square  legs.  The  ornamentation  consists  of  maple 
or  birch  applied  spindles,  stained  to  imitate  ebony,  and 
painted  panels.  The  designs  are  conventional  roses  and 
leaves  of  ivory-white  and  rich  red,  and  the  panels  are  of 
soft  wood,  as  was  customary  with  painted  chests  made  in 
Connecticut  and  the  vicinity  during  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Sometimes,  in  similar  specimens,  the  colouring  is  blue 
and  green.  This  piece  belongs  to  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer, 
of  Wethersiield,  Conn.,  and  has  been  in  the  possession  of 
the  present  owner's  family  for  several  generations. 

Labour  was  of  course  particularly  valuable  in  the  new 
colonies.  In  1626,  the  court  of  Plymouth  Colony  decreed 
that  "  no  handicrafts  men  soever  as  taylors,  shoemakers,  car- 
penters, joiners,  smiths,  sawiers,  or  whatsoever  which  doe 
or  may  reside  or  belong  to  this  plantation  of  Plimoth  shall 
use  their  science  or  trads  at  home  or  abroad,  for  any 
strangers  or  foriners  till  such  time  as  the  necessity  of  the 
colony  be  served."  In  1630,  the  rate  of  skilled  labour  was 
sixteen  pence  per  day.  In  1633,  master  carpenters,  saw- 
yers, joiners,  etc.,  are  forbidden  to  receive  above  two  shil- 
lings per  day,  "finding  themselves  dyett,"  and  not  above 
fourteen  pence  if  boarded.  The  joiners  who  came  here 
were  not  all  indentured  servants;  some  were  already  pros- 
perous tradesmen  in  England.  In  1637,  Samuel  Dix,  joiner, 
left  Norwich  for  Boston  with  his  wife,  two  children  and  two 
apprentices,  William  Storey  and  Daniel  Linsey.  In  1635, 
John    Davies,  aged  twenty-nine,  arrived   in    the  Increase; 

174 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

and  Ralph  Mason,  aged  thirty-five,  with  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren in  the  Abigail.  A  joiner  named  Edward  Johnson, 
who  was  certainly  prosperous,  arrived  two  years  later  from 
Canterbury,  with  his  wife,  seven  children  and  three  ser- 
vants. Two  Salem  joiners  mentioned  in  1665  and  1671 
were  Samuel  Belknap  and  John  Taylor. 

Although  skilled  labour  was  a  great  desideratum  in  New 
England,  the  town  authorities  were  very  careful  not  to 
admit  shiftless  persons  into  the  community.  Somebody  had 
to  go  bail  for  every  new  comer  who  was  without  visible 
means  of  support.  Numerous  instances  of  this  custom  ex- 
ist. For  example,  on  August  30,  1680,  we  read:  "  I,  John 
Usher,  of  Boston,  merchant,  bind  me  unto  Captain  Thomas 
Brattle,  treasurer  of  the  said  town  in  the  sum  of  forty 
pounds  that  William  Smith,  joiner,  shall  not  be  chargeable 
to  the  town."  Again  on  December  25,  1680,  we  find  that 
Robert  Medlecot,  merchant,  signed  the  bond  of  John  Blake, 
joiner.  There  seems  to  have  been  nothing  approaching  a 
guild,  or  solidarity,  in  the  various  trades:  those  who  went 
on  the  bond  of  others  were  not  necessarily  of  the  same 
trades. 

To  take  a  few  examples:  October  31,  1681,  William 
Taylor  and  Eliakim  Hutchinson  became  sureties  to  the 
town  for  John  Clarke,  cabinet-maker,  and  Robert  Holland, 
joiner,  and  their  families.  June  25,  1682,  Manasses  Beck, 
joiner,  is  surety  for  John  Hayward,  shopkeeper,  and  family ; 
July  31,  1682,  Ebenezer  Savage,  upholsterer,  for  John  Bur- 
der  and  family;  July  30,  1683,  William  Killcupp,  turner, 
for  Roger  Killcupp  and  family ;  David  Edwards,  mariner, 
for  William  Davis,  clockmaker  and  family ;  Joshua  Lamb  of 
Roxbury,  merchant,  for  John  Wolfenderer,  upholsterer,  and 
family  ;   October  27,   i  684,  Thomas  Stapleford,  chairmaker, 

»7S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

for  Thomas  Mallet,  draper,  and  family;  August  5,  1685, 
Thomas  Wyborne  and  Stephan  Sergeant  for  Joseph  Hill, 
varnisher,  and  family;  March  31,  1690,  Solomon  Rayns- 
ford,  joiner,  for  Edward  Morse  and  family ;  May  7,  1 697, 
Jeremiah  Bumstead,  joiner,  for  Provided  Medwinter  and 
family;  June  24,  1700,  William  Crow,  trunkmaker,  for 
Exercise  Connant  and  family.      In  a  list  of  persons  not  ad- 


OAK.    CRADLE    AND    TABLE 
Belonging  to  the  Coffin  family.      Now  owned  by  the  Newburyport  Historical  Society. 

mitted  as  inhabitants  of  Boston  in  1683  we  find  one  "Alex- 
ander More,  upholsterer,  at  Philip  Squires." 

On  this  page  is  shown  an  oak  cradle  made  in  1680  by 
Sergeant  Stephen  Jacques  for  John,  the  eldest  son  of  Moses 
and  Lydia  Coffin.  The  oak  table  belonged  to  Joseph 
Coffin  of  the  same  family.  Both  pieces  were  presented  to 
the  Newburyport  Historical  Society  by  H.  and  A.  Little, 
of  Peabody,  Mass.  Sergeant  Jacques  was  a  master  work- 
man who  built  the  meeting-house. 

Prosperous  joiners  and  turners  were  plentiful  throughout 
New  England.  In  1647,  Edward  Larkin  of  Charleston, 
turner,   sold  a   tenement.      Thomas   Roads  was  a  joiner  of 

176 


C/3 

< 


SCO 

a-  O 


II 


1^ 


r 


'  %  1 


I 


i^m 


<3 


CO 


s 


o  ^ 


Uk.. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

local  importance  at  Kittery,  Me.,  in  1680,  and  his  name 
appears  in  many  deeds.  Others  of  that  trade  in  York 
County  were  Philip  Hubhard,  Joseph  Hill,  Nathaniel 
Mendum  (Portsmouth),  Samuel  Brackit,  Joseph  Harris, 
John  Norton,  and  John  Woodbridge  of  Newbury,  who  was 
quite  wealthy.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  joiner 
was  what  we  now  call  the  cabinet-maker.  The  latter  term 
seldom  appears  in  the  records,  though,  as  we  have  noted, 
John  Clarke,  cabinet-maker,  went  to  Boston  in  1681. 

The  brave  Phineas  Pratt,  prominent  in  the  disasters 
that  overtook  Thomas  Weston's  colony  in  Weymouth  in 
1622,  was  a  joiner;  so  also  was  Kenelm  Wynslow,  of  Ply- 
mouth in  1 634 ;  a  certain  John  Jenny  was  apprenticed  to  the 
latter  for  five  years,  and  died  in  1672.  Others  of  that  craft 
who  lived  at  Boston  during  the  seventeeth  century  included 
Jacob  Fernside,  Samuel  Chanler,  Samuel  Clough,  Thomas 
Edwards,  William  Smith,  Thomas  Hichborne,  David  Ste- 
phens, Mathew  Turner,  Richard  Draper,  George  Nicker- 
son,  Jacob  Halloway,  William  Wilson,  John  White, 
William  Payne,  Thomas  Livermore,  William  Howel,  John 
Pricherd,  Henry  Messenger,  Ralph  Carter,  John  Cunnabel 
and  Thomas  Warren.  Henry  Messenger  was  a  joiner 
residing  in  Boston  prior  to  1640;  he  died  in  168  i,  owning 
property  appraised  at  ^^500.  To  his  eldest  son  John  he 
left  **  five  shillings  and  no  more  for  reasons  best  known  to 
myself."  Another  son,  Henry,  was  a  joiner  also.  He  died  in 
1686  worth  ;f  338.  His  timber,  boards,  plank,  working  tools 
and  glue  at  the  shop  were  valued  at  jf  12-9-6.  He  did  not 
keep  any  stock.  He  had  an  apprentice  named  Benjamin 
Threadneedle.  The  records  occasionally  give  us  a  hint  of 
the  actual  work  done  by  these  local  tradesmen.  Captain 
William  Hudson,  who  seems  to  have  kept  an  inn,  died  in 

«77 


THK   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 


1690.  At  that  day  the  public  rooms  had  distinguishing 
names.  In  this  case  the  rooms  were  called  the  "  Rose,"  "  An- 
chor," "  Castle,"  and  "Swan."   The  "  Castle "  and  " Swan " 

contained  two 
cupboards,  each 
appraised  at  eight 
shillings,  made  by 
Nathaniel  Adams 
of  Boston.  At 
his  death  in  1690, 
the  latter  had  ash, 
oak,  ironwood  and 
lignum-vitae  in  his 
shop.  Thomas 
Livermore  had  in 
his  shop  at  his 
death  in  1710, 
**  two  cases  of 
drawers  part  made, 
and  100  feet  of 
black  walnut, 
/2-15-0."  Ralph 
Carter  (died 
1699)  was  worth 
£jiy  of  which  his  tools  and  turning-wheel  came  to  ^'6. 
Matthew  Smith,  turner,  and  Thomas  Webb  and  Jonathan 
Wardell,  joiners,  also  lived  in  Boston  at  the  close  of  the 
century.  The  latter  was  quite  wealthy,  his  estate  amount- 
ing to  ^1,207  at  his  death  in  1721. 

The  example,  on  this  page,  of  an  oak  court  cupboard, 
supposed  to  have  been  made  by  a  New  England  joiner,  is 
owned    by  Mr.  George    Dudley  Seymour,  of  New  Haven, 

178 


COURT    CUPBOARD 
Owned  by  Mr.  George  Dudley  Seymour,  New  Haven,  Conn. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Conn.  Ebony  was  scarce  in  this  country,  and  therefore 
the  black  egg  ornaments  and  turned  pillars  of  this  piece 
are  of  white  wood  stained  black  to  represent  this  wood. 
However,  it  is  not  to  be  concluded  from  this  fact  that  every 
specimen  with  vStained  black  ornaments  is  of  native  make, 
for  pieces  of  English  and  Flemish  make  frequently  have 
ornaments  of  pear  and  other  woods  stained  in  imitation  of 
ebony.  It  will  be  noticed  that  this  specimen  is  almost 
identical  with  the  one  on  page  207. 

Although  New  England  possessed  such  varied  and 
bountiful  woods,  choice  foreign  timber  was  not  entirely 
despised.  Even  cedar  was  brought  in  from  Bermuda  and 
used  in  the  construction  of  chests,  and  yet  mahogany, 
strange  to  say,  was  very  slow  in  coming  into  favour,  even  if 
it  was  generally  known  to  the  cabinet-makers.  It  seems  to 
have  been  practically  non-existent  in  Boston  till  about 
1730,  when  an  occasional  table  or  dressing-box  begins  to 
appear  in  the  inventories.  The  amount  of  furniture  made 
in  the  colonies,  however,  must  have  been  considerable, 
since  it  became  an  article  of  trade  with  the  southern  colo- 
nies, and  articles  of  New  England  furniture  are  expressly 
mentioned  in  the  Charleston  inventories.  Delicate  work- 
manship was  at  the  command  of  the  native  cabinet-makers. 
Edward  Budd,  a  carver  by  trade,  was  living  in  Boston  as 
early  as  1678  ;  Richard  Knight  was  another  who  paid  his 
tax  in  1685,  and  the  names  of  other  members  of  the  same 
craft  would  reward  research. 

A  specimen  of  native  carving  of  this  period  faces  page 
178.  It  is  a  panelled  oak  chest  with  one  drawer,  and  be- 
longs to  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer,  Wethersfield,  Conn. 

Another  branch  of  the  business  was  upholstery.  Joseph 
Juet,  an   upholsterer,   appears  on    the    Boston   tax    list  for 

•79 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

1688.  A  set  of  carpenter's  and  joiner's  tools  is  found  in 
the  inventory  of  many  a  yeoman,  husbandman  and  trades- 
man, so  that  much  household  furniture  of  the  rougher  sort, 
such  as  boards  and  trestles,  forms,  benches,  settles,  stools, 
etc.,  must  have  been  knocked  together  for  common  use  by 
many  a  householder.  To  be  handy  with  the  tools  was  a 
common  accomplishment.  Entries  in  the  diary  of  the 
Rev.  Jasper  Green,  of  Salem,  at  the  close  of  this  period, 
show  that  members  of  the  ministry  took  pleasure  in  man- 
ual labor  of  all  kinds.  The  following  are  a  few  examples  : 
**  1707,  Apr.  I,  Turned  the  entry  door.  Apr.  9,  Saml 
Goodale  making  our  clock  case.  May  6,  Very  busy  fin- 
ishing our  clock  case.  May  9,  Coloured  our  clock  case. 
Aug.  11,1  got  the  mantel-tree." 

In  the  early  part  of  this  century,  chairs  were  the  seats 
of  the  mighty  only ;  the  more  prosperous  households  rarely 
contained  more  than  two  or  three,  and  these  are  usually 
found  in  the  hall.  The  chair  was  a  seat  of  ease  for  rest 
after  the  day's  toil ;  it  also  had  a  certain  dignity,  and  was 
reserved  for  the  heads  of  the  house.  Stools,  forms  and  set- 
tles constituted  the  ordinary  seats.  In  1652,  the  only  seats 
in  Adam  Winthrop's  house  were  four  chairs,  a  settle-chair  and 
fourteen  stools.  Before  1650,  the  inventories  seldom  specify 
the  kind  of  chair ;  but  there  were  few  varieties.  The  value 
of  the  ordinary  chair  was  very  slight;  a  common  entry  in 
the  inventories  is  a  trifling  sum  set  down  to  "wooden 
goods  and  other  lumber,"  thus  contemptuously  dismissing 
all  the  wooden  furniture  in  the  house.  The  cheapest  kinds 
of  chairs  that  were  considered  worth  separate  appraisement 
were  eight  pence  each,  which  sum  was  a  joiner's  wages  for 
about  half  a  day.  The  prices  vary  greatly,  however.  In 
1646,  four   chairs   and   six   stools  come  to  forty  shillings; 

ii(o 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CARVED    OAK    CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mr.  Walter  Hosmcr,  Wethenfield,  Conn. 

and  in    1652   four  small  chairs  are  six  shillings,  while  two 
chairs  and  a  child's  chair  are  five  times  as  much. 

The  child's  chair  was  very  general.  It  is  noticeable 
that  its  form  has  not  changed  to  the  present  day.  It  was 
made  of  oak,  and  several  carved  examples  of  a  child's  chair 

181 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

with  solid  back,  sides  and  scat  still  exist  in  museums.  The 
more  usual  kind,  however,  had  turned  arms,  rungs  and  up- 
rights, and  was  rush-  or  sedge-bottomed.  A  bar  was  fitted 
into  holes  at  the  ends  of  the  arms  to  keep  the  child  from 
falling  out,  and  a  foot-rest  was  fitted  at  a  convenient  height 
as  in  the  modern  chairs.  William  Blanchard  (1652)  had 
a  child's  chair  which,  together  with  two  others,  evidently 
of  the  same  make  (carved  oak  probably,  considering  the 
very  high  price),  was  valued  at^^*I-Io-o.  An  example  of 
a  child's  chair  faces  this  page.  It  was  brought  from  Eng- 
land by  Richard  Mather  in  1635.  It  long  remained  in 
the  family  and  was  used  by  Increase,  Cotton,  and  Samuel 
Mather.  The  foot-rest  has  been  lost,  but  the  holes  are  still 
visible ;  the  rod  that  served  to  keep  the  child  from  falling  out 
has  also  disappeared  with  time.  The  chair  is  now  in  the 
rooms  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society  at  Worcester, 
Mass. 

The  various  kinds  mentioned  were  the  **  wainscot,"  or 
oak,  chair  with  solid  sides,  seat  and  back,  sometimes  plain, 
and  sometimes  ornamented  with  carving  in  relief;  the 
turned  chair,  with  massive  and  ugly  legs,  rungs  and  back 
bars;  **  matted,"  "bass,"  "wicker,"  "joined,"  "wrought," 
Turkey-work  and  leather  chairs.  With  the  exception 
of  "wainscot,"  the  wood  is  rarely  mentioned,  although 
black  walnut  was  rapidly  growing  in  favour  as  a  substitute 
for  oak  and  was  soon  to  take  its  place. 

An  example  of  the  carved  oak  chair  has  already  been 
given  facing  page  164.  Another  without  arms,  belonging 
to  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer,  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  appears  on 
page    181. 

The  leather  chair  existed  in  several  varieties  and  was 
expensive.       The    seven    leather  chairs    in    John    Cotton's 


RUSH-BOTTOMED   CHAIR 

Originally  owntd  by  Philip  Rtid  {/6g8)  j  noiu  in  the  Antiquarian  Societj,  Concord,  Mass. 

Sii  pagi  i8j. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CARVED    OAK    CHAIR    AND    CHAIR    ORIGINALLY    COVERED    WITH    LEATHER 
From  the  house  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mass 


Great  Parlour  in  1652  cost  ^^3,  which  was  also  the  value 
of  the  eight  **  red  leathered  hack  chairs  and  two  low 
leather  back  stools"  standing  in  the  parlour  of  Captain 
William  Tinge  in  1653;  whereas  the  "seven  leather  and 
one  green  chair"  in  the  hall  of  Major-General  Gibbons  in 
1654  were  worth  only  ^'i.  William  Paddy  had  "eleven 
Russia  leather  chairs  in  the  hall,  at  eleven  shillings,  and  five 
others,  ;t 3-5-0,"  in  1658;  and  six  old  leather  chairs  be- 
longing to  John   Coggan   at  the  same  date  were  together 

183 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 


CANE    CHAIR    AND    CHAIR    ORIGINALLY    COVERED    WITH    LEATHER 
Both  specimens  are  owned  by  Miss  Hayes,  Cannbridge,  Mass. 

valued  at  twelve  shillings.  This  John  Coggan  was  a  mer- 
chant who  in  1633  opened  the  first  shop  in  Boston.  In 
1659,  Jacob  Sheafe's  estate  included  twelve  red  leather 
chairs,  ^^5.  The  leather  chair  was  therefore  worth  from 
two  to  thirteen  shillings,  and  was  found  only  in  the  best 
houses.  The  above  gentlemen  were  all  wealthy  Bostonians. 
The  leather  chairs  were  made  high  and  low,  with  and 
without  arms.  The  high  one  in  its  simplest  form  was 
what  is  now  commonly  known  as  the  Venetian  chair,  and 
was  very  general  throughout  Western  Europe  in  the  late 
Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  periods.      It  had  a  square  frame 

184 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

and  was  slightly  carved  on  the  front  feet,  projecting  ends 
of  the  arms,  and  tops  of  the  back,  supports  on  which  the 
leather  was  fastened  with  brass  studs.  The  top  of  the  back 
usually  rovse  in  a  curved  peak  and  the  arms  were  slightly 
curved  and  ended  in  a  scroll.  The  leather  back  did  not 
come  all  the  way  down  to  the  seat.  The  seat  was  also 
covered  with  leather  fastened  down  with  studs.  The  arms 
of  the  owner  were  often  stamped  upon  the  centre  of  the 
leather  back.  The  low  leather  chair  was  still  simpler, 
with  square  frame,  the  leather  leaving  the  lower  part  of  the 
back  open.  More  elaborate  specimens,  such  as  the  Spanish 
chairs  made  of  chestnut,  had  dark  brown  leather  stamped 
with  scrolls,  birds,  animals  and  floral  designs.  The  frame- 
work was  carved  with  leafwork  and  scrolls,  similar  to  the 
cane-backed  walnut  chair,  which  it  closely  resembled. 

This  stvle  of  chair  has  already  been  fully  illustrated  in 
Parts  I.  and  II.  Two  additional  examples  may  be  seen 
on  pages  183  and  184.  These  were  low  leather  chairs, 
although  now  upholstered  with  modern  materials:  that  on 
page  183,  with  a  carved  oak  front  bar,  is  now  in  the  home 
of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mass.  The  second  one 
on  page  1 84  is  of  somewhat  later  date  and  is  owned  by 
Miss  Hayes,  in  Cambridge,  Mass. 

The  wicker  chair  of  woven  willow  and  other  pliant 
twigs  occurs  quite  early.  It  was  cushioned  and  luxurious, 
and  worth  as  much  as  a  good  leather  chair.  In  1652, 
John  Cotton's  wicker  chair  was  set  down  at  six  shillings 
and  eight  pence, — eight  pence  more  than  his  four  bass 
chairs.  Four  shillings  was  the  sum  credited  to  another 
belonging  to  William  Paddy  six  years  later.  In  Henry 
Webb's  bedroom  (1660)  was  a  wicker  chair  and  cushion, 
^^'0-5-0.      In   1646,  Christopher  Stanley  had  "one  Cabbin 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


@«^»ES— 


RUSH-BOTTOM    AND    CANE    CHAIRS 


The  central  one  transformed  into  a  rocking  chair.      Owned  by  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society, 
Hartford,  Conn. 


and  one  wicker  chair,  ^i-io-o," — an  exceedingly  high 
price. 

The  bass-bottomed  chair  was  worth  from  one  to  two, 
the  "mat"  chair  from  two  to  three,  and  the  joined  chair 
from  four  to  five  shillings.  The  value  of  the  "sedge" 
chair  was  about  eighteen  pence.  Rush-,  reed-  and  sedge- 
bottomed  chairs  were  very  plentiful  and  popular. 

The  rush-bottomed  chair  was  often  painted  green,  the 
fashion  having  been  brought  in  by  the  English  settlers  from 
Leyden.  In  North  Holland  this  "green"  chair  was  uni- 
versally used  during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the  name 
frequently  occurs  in  the  New  England  inventories.  Another 
green  chair  often  mentioned,  however,  is  of  quite  a  different 
nature  and  far  more  costly. 

Examples  of  rush-bottomed  chairs  are  shown    facing 


i86 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


RUSH-BOTIOM,  TURNED  AND  CANE  CHAIRS 
Owned  by  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Hartford,  Conn. 


page  184  and  on  pages  186  and  187.  The  one  facing  page 
184  originally  belonged  to  Philip  Reed  (1698)  and  is  now 
in  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord,  Mass.  It  is  an  early 
example  of  the  "wing  chair."  The  back  and  sides  are 
covered  with  a  gay  flowered  cretonne.  The  rush-bottomed 
chair  with  back  of  slats  painted  black,  on  this  page,  be- 
longed to  the  Stanley  family  of  Connecticut  and  is  now 
owned  by  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Hartford, 
Conn.  The  central  chair  on  this  page  is  an  oak  turned 
chair  of  the  vseventeenth  century,  clumsy  and  heavy ;  to  the 
right  of  this  is  a  cane  chair  that  came  from  the  VVyllys 
home.  Charter  Oak.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  this  with 
one  of  Penn's  chairs  on  page  85.  These  specimens  are  in 
the  possession  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  which  also  owns  the  pieces  represented  on  page 
1 86.     The  one  in  the  centre  is  an  old  chair.      It  has  been 

l«7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

transformed  into  a  rocking  chair  in  the  rudest  manner  and 
feeble  arms  painted  black  have  been  added.  The  chair  to 
its  right  has  four  splats  rounded  at  the  back  and  cut  flat  in 
front.  The  third  chair  is  rush-bottomed  with  split  balus- 
ters in  the  back. 


CANE    CHAIRS 
Owned. by  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass. 


The  three  chairs  from  the  American  Antiquarian  So- 
ciety, Worcester,  Mass.,  are  also  typical  forms  of  this  period. 

In  some  of  the  wealthier  houses,  the  severe  form  of 
chair  that  had  to  be  made  really  comfortable  with  a  cushion 
was  supplemented  by  another  kind  that  made  its  way  into 
England  from  Venice.  The  chairs  were  upholstered  on 
the    arms,    seat   and   back,  and  the  legs  were  made  in  the 

188 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

shape  of"  a  curved  X.  Many  examples  of  this  style  of  chair 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  seventeenth-century  pictures.  The 
chairs  were  accompanied  with  stools  and  often  with  foot- 
stools, also  supported  by  the  curved  X  legs,  and  with  vStufFed 
seats.  Two  armchairs  and  six  stools  made  up  the  set,  and 
an  upholstered  sofa,  or  couch,  often  went  with  it.  These 
were  certainly  brought  into  New  England  before  1650,  and 
the  favourite  colours  in  which  the  pieces  were  upholstered 
were  red,  green  and  blue.  Captain  William  Tinge  (  1653) 
had  in  his  hall  **  one  great  green  chair,  six  high  back  chairs 
and  two  low  back  chairs,  and  one  old  green  elbo  chair  all 
cased,  j[6" ;  and  "one  green  couch  laid  with  a  case, 
j^*2-io-o."  In  another  room  there  was  **a  great  cushion 
for  a  couch,  j^  i."  These  high  prices  show  that  the  arti- 
cles belonged  to  the  class  of  sumptuous  furniture.  An  in- 
teresting example  of  a  couch  of  cane,  with  an  armchair 
the  seat  of  which  should  be  cane  like  the  back,  appears  on 
page  190.  These  pieces  originally  belonged  to  the 
Bulkeley  family  and  are  owned  by  the  Antiquarian  Societv, 
Concord,  Mass.  The  hall  of  Major-General  Gibbons 
( 1654)  contained  one  green  and  seven  leather  chairs  valued 
at  j[i.  Velvet  and  damask  were  the  materials  used  in 
upholstering  these  chairs.  William  Paine  (1660)  had 
four  red  stools  and  two  red  cloth  chairs  with  fringe. 
Major-General  Gibbons  possessed  ten  yellow  damask  chairs 
which,  although  old,  were  worth  ^^4-1 0-0.  In  the  inven- 
tory of  the  late  Comfort  Starr  of  Boston  (1659)  a  "great 
damask  chair"  also  occurs.  The  hall  chamber  of  Henry 
Webb  (1660)  contained  "seven  green  chairs  and  stools, 
four  with  fringes  and  three  with  galloone,  j^*3-io-o;"  and 
twelve  leather  chairs,  six  low  and  six  high,  j^'4-4-0.  Thevse 
"green"   chairs  were  therefore  in  the  same  class  with  the 

1I9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CANE    COUCH    AND    ARMCHAIR 
Owned  by  the  Bulkeley  family,  now  by  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord,  Mass. 


finest  Russia-leather  chairs  of  the  day  and  must  not  be 
confounded   with    the    Dutch  green  rush-bottomed  chairs. 

The  Turkey-work  chair  was  also  in  use  before  1650. 
It  was  equal  in  value  to  the  best  leather  chair.  In  1658, 
William  Paddy  had  two,  valued  at  sixteen  shillings  each; 
but  it  became  cheaper  before  long.  Its  bright-coloured 
worsted  designs  made  it  very  popular  and,  as  chairs  came 
into  common  use  during  the  second  half  of  the  century,  it 
was  found  in  almost  every  household. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  stools  which  accompanied  the 
chairs  sometimes  had  cross  legs,  curved  or  straight,  and 
padded  seats  covered  with  the  same  material  as  the  chairs. 
The  edges  were  usually  fringed. 

The  buffet  (not  tuffet),  the  seat  occupied  by  Little  Miss 
Muffet  of  nursery-rhyme  fame,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 


190 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

other  buffet  (spelt  beaufait  and  beaufitt  in  the  inventories 
on  its  appearance  late  in  the  century)  and  must  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  it.  In  i6i  i  Cotgrave  had  defined  the 
French  word  scabeau  as  a  "buffit  or  joined  stool  to  sit  on." 
In  Skinner's  Etymologtcon  (1671)  it  is  described  as  "a  light 
seat  without  arms  or  back,  indeed  it  may  easily  supply  the 
place  of  a  table."  It  usually  had  four  turned  legs  with  con- 
necting stretchers  close  to  the  ground,  and  thus  resembled 
a  miniature  table. 

Governor  Thomas  Dudley's  parlour  chamber  (1653) 
contained  "a  chair  and  two  buffet  stools  and  cover  for  chair, 
seventeen  shillings;  two  green  buffet  stools,  a  livery  cup- 
board and  cloth,  fourteen  shillings."  Other  stools  were  the 
joint  stools,  and  low  and  high  stools.  These  had  three  or 
four  legs,  and  were  often  made  comfortable  with  cushions. 
Dudley's  parlour  contained  "six  joine  stools,  three  chairs 
and  ten  cushions." 

John  Cotton  (1652)  had  26  chairs,  including  a  little 
table  chair,  about  30  stools,  6  forms,  and  a  couch.  Cap- 
tain Tinge's  seats  consisted  of  one  form,  one  couch,  18 
chairs  and  20  stools.  The  latter  were  in  considerable  variety, 
consisting  of  4  back  stools,  4  low  stools,  2  low  stools  with 
blue  covers,  2  low  stools  with  leather  backs,  6  high  Tur- 
key-work stools,  and  2  low  leather  stools.  Thus  stools 
were  upholstered  with  the  same  material  as  chairs,  and  the 
addition  of  backs  makes  it  hard  to  draw  a  sharp  line  be- 
tween stools  and  chairs. 

The  foot-stool  is  seldom  mentioned :  Thomas  Thatcher 
has  a  cricket  in   1686. 

During  the  second  half  of  the  century,  chairs  became 
much  more  plentiful,  and  a  prosperous  home  contained  a 
great  variety  while  the  stools  gradually  diminished  in  num- 

i9l 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ber.  In  1656,  the  wealthy  Robert  Keayne  had  only 
half  a  dozen  chairs  in  the  house,  the  other  seats  being 
stools  and  forms.  Henry  Shrimpton  (1666)  owned  forty- 
two  chairs  and  twenty-four  stools.  Antipas  Boyse  (1669) 
had  forty-seven  chairs  and  twenty-one  stools.  The  varie- 
ties in  these  two  houses  included  leather  work  with  backs, 
low  leather,  Turkey-work,  arm,  wicker,  low  green,  turned, 
low,  child's,  and  matted  high  chairs;  forty-two  of  the  eighty- 
nine  being  some  form  of  leather.  The  stools  were  joint, 
leather,  wrought,  and  "cushion."  In  1672,  William  Whit- 
tingham  possessed  forty-two  chairs  and  but  two  wrought 
stools.  These  included  fourteen  Turkey-work,  eight  Russia 
leather,  six  calves'  leather,  one  child's  high,  large  arm,  six 
low  chairs  with  covers  and  silk  fringes  and  "six  covered 
with  bayes."  Richard  Bellingham's  stools  were  six  and  his 
chairs  twenty-six  in  number  in  the  same  year.  Among 
them  were  eight  turned  chairs  with  sedge  bottoms  and  two 
cushions. 

In  1675,  Captain  Scarlet  had  6  Turkey-work,  2  wicker, 
I  great  wicker,  3  blue,  6  red,  6  high  leather,  and  10  red 
damask  chairs.  No  stools  are  mentioned  in  his  house,  nor 
in  those  of  John  Freack  (1675]  and  Nathan  Raynsford 
(1676)  who  possessed  forty-five  and  twenty-five  chairs 
respectively. 

In  1677,  Hanna  Douglas  has  seven  serge  and  four  small 
green  chairs,  and  Hope  Allen  has  a  large  and  a  small  green 
chair  and  two  green  stools,  worth  j^' 1-3-0. 

No  stools  are  in  the  inventory  of  Humphrey  Warren 
(1680),  nor  of  Jeremiah  Gushing  (1681):  their  chairs 
numbered  sixty-three  and  fifty-one.  John  Wensley  (1686) 
owned  sixty-two  chairs  and  six  stools;  Captain  Thomas 
Berry  (1697)  fifty  chairs  and  one  stool;  and  Robert  Brons- 

192 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   F^OREFATHERS 

den  (1702),  sixty-nine  chairs.  The  chairs  and  stools 
upholstered  in  red,  green  and  blue  are  found  in  the  best 
houses  until  the  end  of  the  century.  In  1691  Dr.  Jonathan 
Avery   has   "two   red   buffet  stools  wrought,"  twelve  shil- 


CARVED  OAK  CHAIR    FROM    NOVA  SCOTIA  AND  CHAIR    (CANE  AND 

OAK)  FROM  THE  WYLLYS  HOME 

Both  tpecimeru  are  owned  by  Mre.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.      See  pagr  194. 

lings;  and  four  green  ones,  sixteen  shillings.  The  cheaper 
"green"  chair  also  lingers:  John  White  {1690)  has  "Six 
green  flag  bottom  chairs,"  nine  shillings.  The  material 
with  which  the  seats  were  upholstered  was  often  hand- 
worked: John  Clarke  (1691)  had  five  needlework  chairs 
worth  five  shillings  each.  There  was  more  than  one  variety 

«93 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  the  Turkey-work,  chair.  Besides  a  cushioned  armchair 
in  Robert  Bronsden's  hall  (1702),  there  were  "six  Turkey- 
work  chairs,"  best  sort,  ^3,  and  twelve  ditto,  worst  sort, 
j^3- 1  2-0.  A  very  handsome  carved  oak  chair,  the  seat  of 
which  was  originally  cane  like  the  back,  was  brought  by 
Bishop  Wainwright  from  Nova  Scotia.  This  is  owned  by 
Mrs.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.  On  the  same  plate  is 
a  cane  chair  of  the  period.  This  belonged  to  the  Wyllys 
family,  at  Charter  Oaky  and  is  also  owned  by  Mrs. 
Wainwright.  A  similar  chair  from  Charter  Oak,  be- 
longing to  the  same  set,  appears  on  page  187.  The  cane 
of  these  is  particularly  fine  and  gives  a  handsome  effect. 

The  chair  towards  the  end  of  the  century  is  losing  its 
rigid  lines  and  submitting  to  the  curves,  sometimes  gro- 
tesque, of  the  Dutch  cabinet-makers.  The  turned  legs  with 
"Spanish  feet,"  sometimes  straight  and  sometimes  scrolled, 
gradually  develop  well-defined  knees  and  become  cabriole 
legs  with  hoof  and  similar  feet,  at  the  same  time  dispensing 
with  the  curved  front  rail  and  turned  straining-rails.  The 
cane  frame  of  the  back  is  first  divided  in  half  by  a  central 
vertical  bar,  then  the  cane  on  either  side  disappears,  leaving 
the  splat,  which  is  then  rendered  ornamental  by  cutting  it 
into  various  forms.  A  glance  at  page  1 84  and  page  1 86 
will  show  this  development.  Presently  the  jar  shape  splat 
becomes  the  favourite ;  this  is  then  pierced  and  carved, 
gradually  following  much  the  same  course  as  Gothic  win- 
dow tracery.  Meantime,  the  carved  top  sinks  into  simple 
curves  that  also  develop  into  more  elegant  forms  of  the 
bow  shape.  The  French  Renaissance  is  rapidly  making  its 
influence  felt  in  the  second  half  of  the  century,  and  the 
Dutch  are  applying  the  squat  forms  they  receive  from  the 
Orient.     The  carved  oak  period  has  passed  and  the  cabriole 

194 


SETTLE   WITH    FOLDING   CANDLESTAND 

Fr0m  the  TaUott  House.     Owned  by  Mrt.  H'atHivhght^  Hart/or  J,  Conn. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

leg,  bombe  shapes,  and  hoof  and  ball-and-claw  feet  are 
obtainable  by  those  who  like  the  new  style.  It  is  difficult 
to  trace  its  coming  in  default  of  contemporary  notice,  but 
the  change  was  by  no  means  violent  or  sudden.  A  book 
had  been  published  as  early  as  1550,  by  Jacques  Androuet, 
in  which  there  was  a  good  deal  of  what  we  now  call 
Pompeian  design,  although  it  did  not  become  fashionable 
till  the  discovery  of  the  buried  city  nearly  two  centuries 
later.  In  Androuet's  book  we  also  find  a  good  deal  of 
what  is  now  styled  "Louis  C^atorze."  Moreover,  the  leg 
of  a  table  or  a  chair  ending  in  an  eagle's  or  dog's  claw,  and 
ornamented  at  the  top  with  a  low-relief  acanthus  leaf,  is 
there  exactly.  Androuet  also  uses  for  ornamentation  what 
Chippendale  called  **  terms."  Attention  to  these  facts  is 
drawn  bv  Heaton  in  his  Furniture  and  Decoration  in  England 
During  the  Eighteenth  Century  (London   1890—93). 

Finally  we  have  forms,  settles,  settle-chairs  and  table- 
chairs  or  chair-tables.  The  settle  with  its  high  back, 
pulled  beside  or  in  front  of  the  fire,  was  a  welcome  shield 
against  the  bitter  winter  gusts  that  penetrated  the  wooden 
walls  of  the  ordinary  house.  One  of  these,  with  folding 
candlestand,  was  long  in  the  Talcott  house,  Hartford. 
This  is  shown  facing  page  194.  It  is  owned  by  Mrs. 
Wain  Wright,  Hartford,  Conn.  The  settle  was  frequently 
carved  and  sometimes  had  a  well,  or  a  drawer,  in  the  seat. 
Cushions  often  added  to  its  comfort.  A  small  settle  was 
worth  six  shillings  in  1652.  A  settle  with  drawers  was 
appraised  at  one  pound  on  the  death  of  Thomas  Scottow 
in  1 66 1.  Occasionally  a  ** settle  chair "  is  mentioned.  The 
small  settle  was  sometimes  a  combination  table  and  settle, 
the  back  turning  on  a  pin  and  forming  the  table-top,  like 
the  chair-table  which  was  found  in  many  houses  (see  page 

•9S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

159).  William  Liidkin  possessed  an  old  chair-table  valued 
at  two  shillings  and  six  pence  in  1652.  In  1658,  John 
Coggan  had  in  his  parlour  "  two  table  chairs,  eight  shil- 
lings "  ;  and  Francis  Chickering  of  Dedham  in  the  same 
year  had  a  chair  table,  ^2  ;  so  that  the  value  of  this  ar- 
ticle of  furniture  varies  surprisingly,  the  difference  being 
doubtless  due  to  carved  or  inlaid  ornamentation.  A  valu- 
able settee  (;^2)  is  found  among  the  household  goods  of 
William  Bartlett  of  Hartford,  in  1658.  A  fine  Turkey- 
work  settee  of  this  period  faces  page  198.  This  was 
brought  to  Salem  from  Normandy  by  a  Huguenot  family 
about  1686.  It  is  owned  by  the  heirs  of  John  Appleton 
and  is  now  in  the  Essex  Institute,  Salem,  Mass.  The 
frame  is  oak  and  the  colours  of  the  Turkey-work  are  rose, 
blue,  buff  and  light  brown,  curiously  mixed  with  green, 
magenta  and  black. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  average  house  was  severe  and 
bare  so  far  as  cushions  were  concerned  ;  a  soft  cushion  in 
a  chair  or  on  a  sofa  was  a  rarity.  The  taste  for  everything 
Oriental  has  changed  all  that,  and  hard  horsehair  has  been 
practically  banished,  but  we  have  only  returned  to  the  lik- 
ings of  our  Puritan  forefathers  after  all. 

The  stiffness  and  severity  of  the  carved  oak  furniture 
was,  as  we  have  seen,  greatly  relieved  by  cushions.  These 
are  found  in  profusion  in  all  the  comfortable  homes. 
There  were  cushions  on  the  window-seat,  on  the  chairs,  on 
the  settles,  on  the  stools,  and  even  on  the  cupboards.  They 
were  stuffed  with  down,  feathers,  flock,  cat-tails  and  any- 
thing at  hand  that  would  serve.  The  coverings  and  cases 
for  these  cushions  were  even  more  varied  than  the  filling. 
The  ordinary  cushion  was  worth  about  a  shilling,  and  in 
1666  feathers  were  worth  eleven  pence  per  pound.    Henry 

196 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Shrimpton  possessed  834  pounds  at  that  price.  It  is  there- 
fore evident  that  the  shilling  cushion  did  not  contain  feath- 
ers. John  George  of  Watertown  (1646)  had  11  cushions, 
jf  i-io-o,  kind  not  specified.  Some  of  the  materials  with 
which  cushions  were  covered  appear  from  the  following  en- 
tries ;  2  Turkey-work  cushions,  i  646  ;  3  gilt  do,  ^0-8-0, 
1650;  5  Turkey-work  do,  j^i-2-6,  1652.  Captain 
Tinge  owned  (1653)  "6  raught  window  cushions  in  the 
presse,  ^^2-0-0 ;  6  green  do,  j^'0-18-0;  6  Turkey  do, 
j(,'o-i8-o;  a  great  cushion  for  the  couch,  j[i  ;  2  P^^^ 
window  cushions,  j[2  ;  i  velvet  window  do,  ^^0-12-0; 
and  10  old  cushions,  j^o-i6-o."  Simon  Eire  (1653)  had 
6  cushions,  j[2  ;  i  window  do,  5  pieces  of  stuff  for  i  i 
cushions  and  2  pieces  of  fringe,  ^'i-i  3-0.  Major-General 
Gibhons  had  3  i  cushions,  including  "  i  1  window  cushions, 
4  damask,  4  velvet,  2  leather,  i  Turkey-work,  ^i-io-o." 
Anne  Hibbins  (  1656)  owned  a  green  say  cushion  ;  a  "  vio- 
let pinckt  cushion,  three  shillings  ;  "  a  velvet  do,  ten  shil- 
lings ;  and  a  "  wrought  cushion  with  gold,  five  shillings." 
The  material  with  which  the  cushions  were  covered  fre- 
quently matched  the  curtains  and  valance,  especially  in  the 
rich  stuffs.  The  '*  carpets  "  and  "  cupboard  cloths  "  were 
sometimes  uniform  also  with  the  cushions  and  curtains. 
Needlework  on  the  material  was  highly  prized,  and  the 
ladies  found  time  for  much  work  of  that  nature.  The 
above  Anne  Hibbins  had  in  addition  to  her  cushions:  **  a 
wrought  cupboard  cloth  or  great  cushion  cloth,  green  say 
valance,  i  green  cupboard  cloth  with  silk  fringe,  i  green 
wrought  do  with  do  (^^2),  i  wrought  valliants,  5  painted 
calico  curtains  and  valence,  i  cupboard  cloth  with  fringe, 
and  I  wrought  Holland  cupboard  cloth."  Bridget  Busby 
(1660)  had  8  cushions,  and  2  needlework  cushions  worth 

«97 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

twice  as  much  as  all  the  others  together.  She  also  owned 
one  wrought  tester  valued  at  ^2-4-0.  This  sum  was 
more  than  the  total  of  the  furniture  of  her  room,  which 
consisted  of  a  table  and  form,  a  round  table,  two  chairs,  a 
stool,  two  covered  stools,  six  pictures,  a  great  chest,  and- 
irons, and  "  some  odd  trifles  over  the  door."  Among 
Henry  Webb's  twenty-seven  cushions,  we  note  six  green 
cushions  mixed  with  yellow,  velvet  do,  fringed  and 
wrought  do  ;  and  **  six  needlework  cushions  wrought,  four 
drawn  to  work,  and  muskada  ends,  etc.,  ^10."  The  value 
of  the  last  item  is  almost  incredibly  high.  Leonard  Hoar 
had  live  hair  cushions  in  1675. 

Tables  in  New  England  before  1650  may  be  disposed 
of  in  a  few  words.  The  "table  and  tressells"  of  Joseph 
Weld,  of  Roxbury,  was  worth  three  shillings  and  six  pence. 
Ten  shillings  was  sufficient  to  buy  the  **  plank  table  and 
another  small  one"  in  the  hall  of  Thomas  Lamb  of  the 
same  town ;  in  his  parlour  was  a  "  framed  table  and  one 
joyned  stool,  ^0-13-4."  Another  fellow-townsman,  John 
Scarbarrow,  who  died  the  same  year  (1646),  owned  a 
"table  and  form,  j^o-14-0;"  and  John  George,  of  Water- 
town  (also  1646)  had  three  tables  valued  at  fifteen  shillings. 
The  tables  in  the  hall  of  Alice  Jones,  of  Dorchester  (1642), 
were  "a  great  table  bord  and  form"  and  a  "short  table- 
board"  worth  fourteen  and  two  shillings  respectively.  The 
above  were  the  simplest  kinds  of  table. 

Tables  had  been  used  hitherto  as  a  word  to  signn^  writing- 
tablets.  A  familiar  instance  of  this  use  is  Hamlet's  cry,  "  My 
tables,  my  tables, — meet  it  is  I  set  it  down."  Board  was  the 
familiar  name  for  the  table  and  it  lingered  in  New  Eng- 
land, as  in  the  above  examples,  after  it  had  almost  disap- 
peared  in   the  old  country.     The  Elizabethan  tables  were 

198 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

generally  boards  hinged  in  the  middle  for  convenience  of 
setting  aside  when  not  in  use.  These  boards  were  sup- 
ported by  trestles.  Trestle  is  the  same  as  **  threstule,"  the  three- 
legged  stand  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  single  seat  for 
all  but  the  heads  of  the  household.  It  was  sometimes 
carved.  The  permanent  was  the  "framed"  table,  the  legs 
of  which  were  connected  by  stretchers  close  to  the  floor. 
The  early  table,  or  board,  was  about  thirty  inches  wide,  and 
the  old  custom  of  sitting  only  on  one  side  was  still  kept  up 
in  many  houses.  The  "table  and  form"  makes  this  evi- 
dent. During  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Martyr,  broader 
tables  came  into  use,  and  the  great  stationary  "folding" 
and  drawing-tables  also  made  their  appearance  in  many 
homes.  The  folding-table  had  from  twelve  to  twenty 
legs,  leaves  being  added  on  legs  that  drew  out  from  the 
ends  and  sides,  as  in  a  modern  folding  table.  The  draw, 
or  drawing,  table  was  made  of  solid  oak ;  it  was  very  mas- 
sive, the  legs  having  the  enormous  acorn-shaped  Dutch 
ornament.  It  was  inlaid  with  pear  wood  in  geometrical 
designs,  stained  black  (see  page  63).  A  handsome  table 
of  this  kind  is  owned  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick,  of 
Boston,  Mass.  It  is  70  inches  long,  30  inches  high  and  32 
inches  broad.  The  extensions  that  draw  out  from  under- 
neath are  the  same  width  as  the  table  and  3 1  inches  in 
length.  In  Captain  Tinge's  parlour  (1653)  was  "one  draw- 
ing table,  £2;'"  and  in  his  hall  were  "  two  tables  one  form, 
j^2."  These  tables  therefore  were  quite  expensive.  Gover- 
nor Dudley's  parlour  (1653)  contained  a  "table  and  frame 
and  6  joine  stools  and  a  carpet,  j^'5-4-0  ";  but  this  exceeding- 
ly high  valuation  may  have  been  due  to  the  "carpet."  There 
were  other  tables  of  smaller  size,  both  square  and  round ;  an 
example  even  of  an  octagonal  table,  dated  1 606,  belongs  to 

199 


THE  FUR^NITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  Carpenters'  Company  in  London.  A  little  leaf  table, 
j£o-S-Oy  was  in  Simon  Eire's  inner  hall  (1658).  Jacob 
Elliott  and  Grace  Brown  ( 165 1 )  both  had  round  tables;  and 
John  Cotton  (1652)  a  small  square  one;  he  had  eleven 
tables  in  his  house. 

Small  square,  round,  and  oval  tables  became  much  more 


OVAL    TABLE    OF    OAK. 
In  the  house  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mass.      See  page  2oa. 


numerous  in  the  second  half  of  the  century.  The  round 
table  varied  greatly  in  value,  showing  that  it  was  made  of 
many  woods  and  in  several  sizes.  In  1660,  one  cost  four 
shillings,  and  another  three  pounds.  Antipas  Boyse  (1669) 
had  a  small  table  with  drawers,  six  shillings.  In  1670, 
William  Wardell's  round  table  with  one  drawer  was  worth 
hfteen  shillings.     The  **long"   and  the  "drawing"  table 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

were  constantly  found.  Besides  oak,  walnut  and  cedar 
were  the  usual  woods.  In  1669,  a  long  cedar  table  is 
appraised  at  j^'i-15-0,  and  in  1672,  a  square  walnut  ditto 
at  jf  I.  A  cedar  table  costs  ^'i,  and  fifteen  shillings  is  the 
value  of  another  of  "Burmodos"  cedar  in  1680.  The 
Spanish  table  was  in  great  favour  in  this  second  period :   in 


OVAL    TABLE 
Owned  by  Mn.  John  Manhall  Holcombe,  Hartford,  Conn.      See  page  201. 


1676,  we  find  one  at  twelve  shillings,  and  in  1679,  two  for 
sixteen  shillings.  The  side  table  appears  early  in  the  sec- 
ond half  of  the  century.  It  was  not  always  an  additional 
table  in  the  dining-room,  but  often  a  small  bedroom  table. 
Robert  CJibbs's  Great  Chamber  contained  four.  In  Humphrey 
Warren's  Red  Chamber  (  1680)  there  was  a  side  table,  and 
his  Hall  Chamber  also  contained  a  small  one.  These  three 
chambers  were  bedrooms.    I'he  dining-room  contained  four 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

small  square  tables  and  carpets, — a  departure  from  the  usual 
custom  of  the  big  table.  It  would  seem  that  it  was  now 
the  fashion  to  have  several  small  instead  of  one  great  table 
There  were  two  in  the  hall  and  three  in  the  dining-room 
of  Sir  William  Phipps.  The  sideboard  table  is  also  found 
about  this  time  as  an  adjunct  to  the  great  table.  In  1683, 
John  Winslow's  hall  contains  a  square  table  and  a  sideboard 
table  of  red  cedar.  The  oval  table  becomes  more  frequent 
towards  the  end  of  the  century.  Captain  Thomas  Berry 
owns  three  in  1 697,  one  at  seven  shillings  and  two  worth 
^i-15-o.  An  oval  table  of  oak,  of  rough  work,  faces 
page  182.  It  has  falling  leaves,  the  legs  are  strength- 
ened by  tenons,  and  the  pegs  that  hold  it  together  are 
wooden.  The  design  is  now  popularly  called  the  "but- 
terfly table."      The  piece  is  in  the  Wayside  Inn,  Sudbury. 

Throughout  the  Stuart  period  there  were  two  kinds  of 
oval  tables.  They  were  of  the  '*  falling"  variety,  having  leaves 
that  could  be  let  down  so  that  the  table  should  take  up 
little  room  when  standing  against  the  wall.  The  legs  were 
almost  invariably  turned  in  spirals  or  beads  and  had  con- 
necting stretchers.  Sometimes  the  side  legs  pulled  out  as 
supports,  and  at  other  times  the  leaves  had  simple  bracket 
supports.  Examples  of  each  kind  may  be  seen  on  pages 
200  and  201.  These  are  sometimes  called  to-day  **  thou- 
sand-legged" tables.  (See  also  page  11.)  Besides  oak, 
pine  and  black  walnut,  the  oval  table  sometimes  occurs 
in  cedar. 

Beds  were  the  most  important  articles  of  furniture  in  the 
early  homes;  they  were  decorative  and  luxurious.  The 
great  post  bedstead,  with  the  trundle  bed  below  that  pulled 
out  on  rollers,  was  found  in  innumerable  homes.  The 
trundle,  or  truckle,  bed  in  baronial  days  was  a  couch  of  little 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

honour,  being  occupied  by  a  personal  attendant  for  protec- 
tion.     It  was  a  servile  resting-place: 

"  He  that  is  beaten  may  be  said 
'To  lie  in  Honour  s  truckle  bed** 

The  children  doubtless  slept  in  it  in  New  England. 

These  great  beds,  with  their  posts  carved  and  swelling 
into  acorn-shaped  mavsses  of  ornamentation,  are  no  longer 
to  be  found  in  this  country;  if  a  single  specimen  has 
escaped  devStruction,  it  has  escaped  the  writer's  search.  An 
illustration,  however,  appears  as  the  frontispiece  of  Part  I. 
The  modern  taste  for  hard  bedding  would  have  amazed 
our  forefathers,  who  would  have  stuffed  their  ticking  with 
sunvset  cloudlets  if  they  could  have  procured  them.  As  it  was, 
they  had  to  be  contented  with  down,  feathers,  fur,  flock, 
hair,  silk  grass,  cat-tails  and  straw.  The  long  bolster  and 
two  pillows  to  each  bed  were  filled  with  the  same  and  cased 
with  fair  linen.  Sheets  of  canvas,  Holland  and  other  linen 
were  added  and  then  came  blankets,  rugs  and  quilts  galore. 
From  rods  under  the  head,  curtains  hung  generally  by 
hooks ;  but  rings  also  were  used,  since  one  entry  reads  **  9 
dozen  curtain  rings,  four  shillings  and  six  pence." 

The  value  of  the  wooden  framework  of  the  bed  was 
always  a  very  small  proportion  of  that  of  the  whole,  as  is 
clear  from  an  early  example — that  of  Joseph  Miriam  of 
Concord  (  1640).  He  had  three  bedsteads,  fifteen  shillings; 
I  feather  and  6  flock  beds,  ^^2-10-0;  2  pairs  of  curtains, 
^4-10-0;  and  a  pair  of  linen  curtains,  ^'i.  Again,  Edward 
Wood  of  Charlestown  had  a  bed  with  curtain,  valance  and 
rods,  ;i5-i5-o;  a  truckle  bed,  one  crown.  Thomas  Cort- 
more  of  the  same  town  (1645)  owned  a  "bedstead  with 
trundle  bedstead,  matts  and  cord,  ^i-io-o."  For  this,  he 
had  down  bedding  worth  twice  as  much.     The  hangings, 

»03 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

which  matched  the  window  curtains,  consisted  of  one  pair 
of  striped  silk  curtains  and  valance,  which,  with  five  window 
curtains  and  five  window,  cupboard  and  chimney  cloths, 
amounted  to  j[^.  His  bed  coverings  included  one  silk,  red 
and  blue  quilt,  ^'i-6-o;  one  red  and  green  silk  do,  ^2- 
lo-o;  and  one  tapestry  coverlet,  ^^  1-6-0.  Such  elegance 
may  be  considered  somewhat  excessive  for  a  "  lodge  in  some 
vast  wilderness,"  but  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  the  wealthy 
settlers  carried  their  luxury  with  them  into  the  virgin 
woods,  just  as  the  Romans  did  into  their  barbarian  conquests. 
Mr.  Cortmore  is  by  no  means  an  exceptional  case.  Mary 
Hudson's  beds  (1651)  further  show  the  relative  value  of 
bedstead  and  hangings:  two  standing  and  one  trundle  bed- 
stead, ^i-io-o;  one  pair  of  say  curtains  and  valance,  ^i- 
5-0;  one  pair  of  striped  ditto,  ^i-o-o;  one  "tapstree" 
covering,  ;^'3-o-o.  Joseph  Weld's  "  darnell "  coverlet,  ^^i  ; 
and  two  little  old  yellow  blankets,  ^2-16-0,  are  also 
astonishingly  large  sums  in  comparison  with  the  contem- 
porary value  of  the  best  chairs,  tables  and  "  cupboards.** 
Robert  Turner's  two  bedsteads  and  iron  rods,  ^^2-5-0,  with 
two  trundle  bedsteads,  ^0-6-8,  also  look  small  beside  his 
pair  of  curtains  and  valance,  ^^2-15-0,  and  one  flock  and 
three  feather  beds  and  bedding,  ^^15.  The  rugs,  blankets 
and  coverlids  were  as  valuable  and  choice  as  the  hangings. 
An  East  Indian  quilt  costs  ^i-io-o,  and  a  silk  shag  rug, 
j^3,  which  was  also  the  value  of  two  home-made  coverlids. 
Richard  Lord  of  Hartford  at  the  close  of  the  century  had 
a  silk  cradle  quilt,  two  silk  striped  blankets,  and  three  other 
blankets  of  white  silk,  watered  silk,  and  double  satin. 
Henry  Webb's  bedstead  and  bedding,  with  green  curtains, 
green  rug  and  coverlid  with  lace  and  fringe,  was  estimated 
at  j^24  in  1660;  probably  these  were  the  richest  materials 

ao4 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

employed.  In  the  same  year,  Martha  Coggan  had  a  suit 
of  East  India  curtains,  £y ;  a  blue  calico  quilt,  ^^'i-io-o; 
a  pair  of  purple  curtains  and  valance,  ^j ;  and  blue  ditto, 
j^'2-10-0.  Samuel  Maverick's  suit  of  blue  serge  curtains 
(1664)  came  to  ^^^4.  Other  curtains  mentioned  are  linsey- 
vvolsey  (which  were  about  three  shillings  a  pair),  linen 
"green,"  "blue,"  yellow  damask,  "striped,"  "red,"  red 
bay,  green  say,  and  shalloon  (twelve  shillings).  In  1658, 
a  new  suit  of  watchet  serge  curtains  and  valance  cost  j[6 ; 
and  a  pair  of  silk  ditto,  j^'3.  Hangings  of  gilt  leather  are 
also  found  in  some  houses.  Screens  are  also  very  common 
as  an  additional  protection  against  draughts,  and  in  some 
cases  portieres  were  used.  Captain  Berry,  in  1697,  had  "a 
curtain  and  rod  for  a  skreen,  fifteen  shillings."  The  screens 
were  made  of  leather,  painted  canvas  and  painted  buckram. 
They  had  two,  three  and  four  leaves.  In  1654,  we  find 
"six  pieces  of  painted  buckram,  ^{'3." 

The  home-made  coverlid  (from  the  French  couvre 
lit)  mentioned  above  may  have  been  woven,  instead  of 
being  made  by  one  of  the  many  processes  of  skilled  needle- 
work, for  spinning-wheels  were  found  in  the  great  majority 
of  homes,  and  the  loom  also  often  occurs.  Twelve  shillings 
was  the  value  of  the  loom  in  Joseph  Weld's  study  in  1646. 
In  1640,  English  mohair  cost  three  shillings  per  yard, 
and  green  serge  four  pence  more.  Painted  calicoes  and 
other  products  of  Eastern  looms  became  popular  later  in 
the  century.  "Cheney"  was  then  worth  about  two 
shillings  per  yard. 

The  cupboard  was  originally  exactly  what  the  name 
implies, — a  board  on  which  cups  were  displayed.  The 
cups  and  other  vessels  used  at  table  were  of  pewter  and 
silver  ;   and  silver  plate  in   respectable  quantity  was  found 

105 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

in  every  home  of  moderate  or  ample  means.  The  "salt" 
was  often  an  imposing  piece  of  plate.  George  Phillips 
(  1644),  whose  estate  amounted  to  ^^553,  owned  **  a  silver 
salt  with  spoons,  ^^4."  Thomas  Cortmore  of  Charles- 
town  (1645)  owned  106  ounces  of  plate,  ^23-17-0.  Silver 
plate  at  that  date  therefore  was  worth  four  shillings  and 
six  pence  an  ounce,  and  George  Phillips's  salt  and  vspoons 
must  have  weighed  about  eighteen  ounces.  John  Holland 
(1652)  had  six  pounds'  worth  of  plate,  and  in  the  same 
year  Adam  Winthrop's  consisted  of  a  silver  tankard,  ^5  ; 
a  beer  bowl,  two  wine  bowls  and  a  caudle  cup,  ^7  ;  two 
silver  sugar  dishes,  ^2-10-0  ;  a  little  silver  salt  and  a  dram 
cup,  sixteen  shillings;  and  twelve  silver  spoons,  ^3.  He 
also  had  a  stone  jug  tipped  with  silver,  ^i  ;  and  a  toast- 
ing iron  tipped  with  silver,  ten  shillings.  Governor  Dud- 
ley's 80^  ounces  of  plate  was  valued  at  five  shillings  and  two 
pence  per  ounce  in  1653, and  Jacob  Sheafe's  i  18  ounces  at 
live  shillings  in  1659;  thus  the  price  varied  with  the 
years.  Adam  Winthrop's  twelve  spoons  were  probably 
what  are  still  so  highly  prized  as  "Apostles'  Spoons."  In 
1656,  Anne  Hibbins  had  "four  silver  spoons,  one  with  a 
gilt  head,  a  great  silver  porringer,  a  silver  tankard,  and  two 
silver  wine  bowls  that  weighed  39  oz.  at  five  shillings,  a  gilt 
salt,  two  gilt  wine  bowls,  one  silver  beaker,  one  beer  bowl, 
two  saucers,  a  silver  salt,  four  gilt  spoons  with  ten  silver 
spoons  with  Pictures  of  Apostles  gilt  and  one  caudle  cup 
at  five  shillings  and  eight  pence  per  oz.  which  weighed  34 
oz.  3^  gilt."  Enough  has  been  said  therefore  to  show  that 
there  was  ample  use  for  the  cupboard. 

A  typical  example  of  a  New  England  court  cupboard 
appears  on  the  next  page.  This  belonged  to  Gregory 
Stone,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  about  1 660,  and  is  now  owned 

206 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

by  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord,  Mass.  Unfor- 
tunately it  has  been  painted  black,  and  some  brass  drop 
handles  have  been  added.  It  is  similar  to  the  court  cup- 
board on  page  178. 


OAK    COURT   CUPBOARD 

Owned  by  Gregory  Stone  (1660).     Owned  by  the  Antiquarian  Society, 
Concord,  Mau. 

The  early  varieties  were  the  "livery"  and  the  "court  * 
cupboard.  The  livery  cupboard  in  general  appearance 
much  resembled  the  altar  and  super-altar  in  the  high  church 
of  the  present  day  (see  also  pages  22  and  36,  regarding 
this  piece  of  furniture).  The  cupboard  cloths,  often  fringed, 
fell  over  the  ends,  not  the  front,  of  the  various  stages.    On 

S07 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

these  vStages,  or  shelves,  the  plate  was  displayed.  Sometimes 
hooks  were  driven  along  the  edges  of  the  shelves,  and  cups, 
mugs  and  jugs  were  hung  on  them.  The  arrangement  was 
exactly  similar  to  the  dresser  in  many  a  modern  kitchen ; 
in  fact  the  "dresser"  of  that  day  still  exists  downstairs.  In 
England  it  is  universal.  To  guard  against  theft,  doors  were 
added  above  and  below,  and  thus  the  "court"  cupboard 
was  developed.  The  fronts  of  these  pieces  of  furniture  were 
decorated  in  a  variety  of  ways  with  inlay,  carving,  panels 
and  superposition  of  split  columns  and  studs  stained  black. 
The  cupboard  was  found  in  all  sizes  and  varieties  and  the 
value  had  a  wide  range.  The  appraisers  described  it  vari- 
ously. We  find :  one  small  cupboard  and  chest  of  drawers, 
j{'i-i6-o  (1645);  a  great  cupboard;  a  table  and  cupboard, 
^2;  a  table-cupboard,  twelve  shillings  (all  1646);  a  livery 
cupboard,  ^i-io-o  (1650);  a  side  cupboard,  eighteen 
pence;  another  "with  a  presse,"  ^i-io-o;  a  chest  and  a 
little  cupboard,  both  with  drawers,  ^3-10-0;  "a  cort  cup- 
board, cloth  and  voider,  ;{'i,"  2  presses,  ^^i  (all  1652);  a 
plain  livery  cupboard,  ten  shillings  ( 1653);  a  prevss  cupboard, 
^1-4-0  ( 1654) ;  a  court  cupboard  with  one  drawer,  sixteen 
shillings,  a  sideboard  cupboard,  twelve  shillings;  and  a  side 
cupboard,  fifteen  shillings  (all  1658).  In  the  lower  part 
of  this  cupboard,  or  sideboard  as  we  should  now  term  it, 
one  or  more  drawers  frequently  occurred.  Then  came  the 
"table"  or  first  stage,  the  superstructure  not  being  as  deep 
as  the  lower  part.  Sometimes  the  upper  part  ran  straight 
across  parallel  with  the  front,  and  sometimes  the  corners 
were  cut  off,  making  the  shape  like  half  a  hexagon  (see 
facing  page  36  and  frontispiece  to  this  number).  Many 
examples  of  these  varieties  still  exist. 

The  cupboards  were  of  all  sizes,  and  in  and  on  them 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

were  kept  articles  of  glass,  earthenware,  and  china,  besides 
plate;  and  cushions  as  well  as  cloths  were  used  to  adorn 
them.  John  Barrell,  who  died  in  1658,  had  in  his  par- 
lour a  court  cupboard  and  cloth  and  small  cushion,  ^1-5-0; 
and  "earthenware,  glasses,  etc.,  upon  the  cubbard  head 
and  in  the  cubbard  and  shelf,  fifteen  shillings." 

The  cupboard  cloths  were  of  damask  or  diaper.  Some- 
times the  cupboard  was  garnished  with  a  carpet,  in  which 
case  the  material  frequently  matched  the  window  curtains 
and  bed  hangings,  or  was  of  Turkey-work.  Abiell  Everell 
(1661)  had  a  cupboard  and  a  sideboard  (;f 2-5-0),  "a  cup- 
board carpet  suted  to  ye  hangings"  and  eight  shillings' 
worth  of  Leghorn  earthenware. 

Many  varieties  of  the  cupboard  are  found  during  the 
second  half  of  the  century.  It  became  an  indispensable 
article  of  furniture  in  every  comfortable  home,  and  four  or 
five  are  frequently  found  in  one  house.  The  prices  cover 
a  wide  range,  and  there  are  very  many  varieties.  The 
woods  of  which  they  were  made  were  usually  oak  or  wal- 
nut, though  pine  was  used  in  the  commonest  kinds.  At 
the  date  when  New  England  was  first  settled,  Sir  Francis 
Bacon  writes :  '*  Some  trees  are  best  for  cupboards,  as 
walnut."  The  court  and  livery  cupboard  soon  developed 
into  other  forms  as  the  century  advanced  by  the  addition 
of  drawers,  etc.,  at  the  separate  stages,  and  in  some  cases 
the  lower  part  was  thrown  back,  leaving  the  second  to  be 
supported  by  pillars  (see  page  169).  The  numerous  vari- 
eties evidently  bred  confusion  in  the  minds  of  the  various 
appraisers,  for  we  find  the  latter  describing  these  articles 
of  furniture  with  great  latitude.  It  is  plain  that  the  word 
cupboard  was  generic  rather  than  specific  and  needed  quali- 
fying phrases  for  clear  understanding.  Thus  William  Paddy 

ao9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

has  a  sideboard  cupboard,  twelve  shillings,  and  a  large  cup- 
board chest  with  drawers,  J^2y  and  Thomas  Buttolph,  a 
cupboard  and  chest  table  (1667),  £().  The  difference  in 
value  of  the  above  pieces  is  worthy  of  note,  as  it  shows  a 
great  variety  of  material,  size  and  workmanship.  Mr. 
Paddy's  large  cupboard  chest  with  drawers  must  have  been 
similar  in  character  to  the  beautiful  piece  of  furniture 
facing  this  page.  It  is  made  of  oak,  the  long  top 
drawer  being  veneered  with  snake  wood,  as  are  the  central 
ornaments  of  the  panels  and  the  side  terminals.  The  dark 
red  of  the  snake  wood  affords  rich  contrast  to  the  oak. 
The  knobs  are  ivory,  the  handles  metal.  This  is  owned 
by  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer,  Wethersfield,  Conn. 

In  1666,  John  Biggs  owns  a  press  cupboard,  j^i-io-o; 
Nicholas  Upshall,  a  small  livery  cupboard  with  drawers, 
^o-io-o;  John  Baker,  two  cupboards  with  drawers,  ^'4; 
Henry  Shrimpton,  a  livery  cupboard,  ^3 ;  and  John 
Brackett,  a  livery  cupboard  and  furniture,  ^^3,  and  a  cup- 
board and  cloth  and  things  on  it,  ^7.  In  1667,  Benjamin 
Richards  has  a  sideboard  cupboard,  ^i-io-o;  William 
Cheny,  "a  great  cubberd,  j^i-io-o,  a  little  ditto,  ^^0-7-6." 
William  Wardell  (1670)  owns  a  joined  cupboard,  j^i,  a 
**  Livory  cubbard,  ^^0-15-0,  and  a  side  cubbard,  a  slight 
one,  j^'0-2-6."  William  Whittingham  (1672)  has  a  side- 
board cupboard,  ^i-io-o,  and  John  Winthrop  (1673)  ^ 
cupboard  of  drawers.  The  dresser  was  a  form  of  the  livery 
cupboard,  but  the  former  word  rarely  occurs  in  the  inven- 
tories. In  1676,  a  cupboard  and  a  small  dresser  were  in 
Mary  Minott's  hall.  The  cupboard  contained  plate  worth 
^10- 1  3-0.  Dr.  Jonathan  Avery  (1690)  had  a  small  cup- 
board on  a  frame.  Thus  there  were  considerable  changes 
and    developments   in    this  important  piece  of  furniture  as 


CUPBOARD   CHEST   OF   DRAWERS 

Oak  inlaid  with  snakrwood.      OtvneJ  by  Mr.  fVaiter  Hojmfr,  ffetherj/ieU,  Conn. 


Ste  page  210. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

time  passed.  The  simpler  forms  had  become  quite  anti- 
quated by  the  end  of  the  century.  A  cupboard  belonging 
to  Captain  Thomas  Berry,  in  1697,  is  described  as  "old- 
fashioned."  In  some  of  the  wealthiest  houses  we  find  the 
cupboard  absent,  so  that  it  may  have  been  going  out  of 
fashion.  It  will  be  noticed  that  it  does  not  appear  among 
the  possessions  of  Sir  William  Phipps,  Of  the  very  wealthy, 
John  Freack  (1675)  also  possessed  no  cupboard. 

The  above  examples  are  from  the  Boston  records  ;  the 
Hartford  lists  show  a  similar  variety. 

This  brings  us  to  the  press,  which  now  appears  occa- 
sionally in  the  inventories.  People  were  rising  above  the 
grade  of  comfort  in  which  trunks  and  chests  suffice  as  re- 
ceptacles for  clothes  and  household  linen.  The  cabinet 
was  for  articles  of  value;  the  cupboard  for  plate,  glass,  china 
and  earthenware;  and  the  press  for  linen  and  clothing. 
The  press  much  resembled  the  court  cupboard  externally, 
though  it  was  generally  larger.  The  distinction  between 
press  and  cupboard  is  not  always  maintained.  In  1659, 
Thomas  Welles  of  Netherfield  owns  "  a  linen  cupboard," 
^'1-5-0.  In  1652,  there  were  two  presses  {j[i)  in  John 
Cotton's  "Gallarie  "  ;  and  William  Blanchard  possessed  a 
cupboard  with  a  press,  ^^'1-10-0.  Other  presses  mentioned 
are:  a  voider  with  a  press,  j^'i-io-o  (1652);  a  press  cup- 
board, jf  1-4-0  (  1654)  ;  and  a  press  and  cloth,  ^^'i  (1657). 
A  linen  press  also  stood  in  Humphrey  Warren's  **  Great 
Parlour  "  in  1680.  In  Elizabeth  Gardner's  parlour  also,  in 
1 68 1,  there  was  "a  large  press  to  hang  clothes  in,  j[2." 
The  press,  therefore,  was  an  important  piece  of  furniture, 
as  is  proved  by  the  high  prices  given.  The  cloth  shows 
that  it  was  adorned  like  the  other  cupboards,  and  some- 
times we  find  things  placed  on  the  head.    It  contained  not 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

only  clothes  and  linen,  but  sometimes  bedding  as  well.  In 
1653,  Captain  Tinge's  hall  contained  *' 6  raught  window 
cushions  in  the  prevsse,  ^2  ;  "  and  *'  a  feather  bed  and  bol- 
ster in  ye  presse,  ^4.  '  Moreover,  there  was  a  **  presse  bed- 
stead "  which  was  a  form  of  folding  bed.     Johnson's  Dic- 


r,U<.r^,u.^ 


CHEST    WITH    DRAWER    AND    MINIATURE    CHEST    WITH    DRAWER    ON    TOP 
From  the  Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  Mass. 

tionary  describes  it  as  a  bed  so  formed  as  to  be  shut  up  in 
a  case.  Robert  Carver  owned  one  in  1679.  It  was  val- 
ued at  ^3,  which  is  five  or  six  times  the  cost  of  an  aver- 
age bedstead. 

The  frame  was  a  separate  four-legged  support  to  several 
pieces  of  furniture.  When  the  top  of  the  table  was  not 
fixed,  the  table  and  frame  often  occur.  Other  entries  are : 
chest  and  frame,  1652;  cabinet  and  frame  it  stands  on, 
1654;   desk  and   frame,    1672;    a  pair   of   virginals   with 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

frame,  1672 ;  trunk  with  the  frame  it  stands  on,  1674  ;  and 
small  cupboard  on  a  frame,  1691.  The  washstand  is  very 
rarely  met  with,  but  a  bason  frame  worth  five  shillings  was 
owned  by  Major-General  Gibbons,  1654.  In  1691  John 
Clarke  owns  a  cistern  and  bason  worth  four  shillings. 


OAK    CHEST    WITH    DRAWER 
From  the  Whipple  House,  Ipcwich,  Matt. 

Chests  were  of  supreme  importance  in  the  early  days  of 
the  settlement  and  were  found  in  every  house  even  at  the 
close  of  the  century.  They  contained  the  clothes,  linen, 
valuables,  and  often  the  plate  of  the  family.  They  were  of 
all  sizes,  sometimes  plain  and  sometimes  carved.  The  ini- 
tials, and  often  the  date  of  birth  of  the  owner,  were  fre- 
quently carved  on  the  front.  Many  examples  of  the  oak 
chest  still  survive.  Sometimes  it  stood  on  short  legs  like 
those  shown  above  and  on  page  2 1  2,  and  facing  page  214.  In 
1652  John  Cotton  owns  one,  and  examples  are  innumerable. 

"3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  commonest  kinds  were  made  of  pine;  cedar  was 
highly  prized  because  of  its  supposed  preservative  virtues. 
Chests  varied  in  value  in  accordance  with  their  size,  mate- 
rial, condition  and  workmanship.  A  considerable  variety 
was  found  in  New  England  homes  before  1650.  Cypress 
seems  to  have  been  the  most  valuable  wood.  In  1645,  a 
cypress  chest  is  worth  ^^2-10-0,  and  another  on  the  death 
of  its  owner,  ten  years  later,  is  listed  at  ;^io.  The  latter, 
however,  is  quite  exceptional,  as  a  few  examples  from  that 
decade  will  show:  a  spruce  chest,  ten  shillings;  a  great 
chest,  six  shillings  and  sixpence;  a  chest,  thirteen  shillings 
and  four  pence;  a  joined  do,  fifteen  shillings;  one  chest, 
eighteen  pence;  a  chest,  a  trunk  and  a  long  cushion,  ten 
shillings;  a  chest  covered  with  red  leather,  ^^2;  a  "ci- 
presse"  chest,  ^5;  a  chest  worth  nothing;  a  wainscot  do, 
fifteen  shillings;  a  cedar  do,  five  boxes  and  a  desk,  ^^i  ; 
two  joyned  chests,  four  shillings;  two  chests  and  two  boxes^ 
j^i-15-0.  Thus  the  value  varied  between  zero  and  ten 
pounds.  A  narrow  shallow  box  often  ran  along  one  end 
just  under  the  lid.  This  was  called  the  till,  and  in  it  the 
smaller  articles  of  value  and  finery  were  kept. 

A  handsome  oak  chest  with  two  drawers  below  the 
deep  well  and  a  till  to  the  right  inside  faces  this  page.  It 
is  owned  by  Mrs.  John  Marshall  Holcombe,  Hartford, 
Conn.  The  panels  are  carved  and  the  decorations  of  spin- 
dles and  egg-shaped  ornaments  are  of  white  wood  stained 
black.  A  common  name  for  this  is  the  "bride's  chest," 
as  it  frequently  contained  the  trousseau. 

Another  chest  of  dark  oak  with  carved  panels  and 
floral  ornamentation,  belonging  to  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters, 
of  Salem,  Mass.,  faces  page  2  1 6.  Upon  it  stands  a  small 
oak  writing-desk  of  the  same  period, 

»»4 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

The  trunk  was  also  commonly  found.  In  1647,3  new 
trunk  belonging  to  the  deceased  Joseph  Weld,  of  Roxbury, 
is  estimated  at  ten  shillings.  In  1654,  a  case  and  a  trunk 
are  worth  only  half  a  crown.  Others  mentioned  are  as  fol- 
lows: a  trunk,  ten  shillings;  two  trunks,  sixteen  shillings; 
a  small  red  trunk,  half  a  crown;  a  small  trunk  with  draw- 
ers, six  shillings;  two  chests  and  three  trunks,  eight  shil- 
lings; one  trunk,  twelve  shillings.  The  trunk  was  often 
covered.  The  sealskin  trunk  is  frequently  found ;  and  in 
1652  a  "great  hair  trunk"  costs  ^^'i.  Governor  Dudley 
owns  an  iron-bound  trunk  which,  with  a  knife  and 
voider,  comes  to  ^f  1-2-6.  In  1671,  we  find  two  trunks 
with  frames  j^' i - 1 0-0,  and  three  others,  £2.  John  Hull 
(1673)  has  a  small  trunk  with  drawers,  six  shillings.  The 
distinction  between  the  trunk  and  the  chest  is  not  always 
clear,  though  the  trunk  was  usually  reserved  for  keeping 
wearing  apparel  in.  Its  form  usually  resembled  a  section 
of  a  tree  trunk,  and  it  seems  in  most  cases  to  have  been 
covered  with  some  form  of  hide.  The  lack  of  precision 
in  the  early  dictionary  makers  renders  it  vain  to  go  to 
them  for  information.  For  instance,  in  Phillips's  New 
World  of  Words  (1662),  we  find  the  following  definitions: 
Trunky  a  chest  or  box  ;  chesty  a  kind  of  coffer,  box  or  trunk; 
caskety  2.  little  cabinet ;  cahinety  a  chest  of  drawers  or  little 
trunk  to  put  things  in.  Thus  we  have  an  endless  chain  and 
are  working  in  a  circle  in  which  everything  seems  to  be 
everything  else.  When  terms  were  used  so  loosely  even  by 
those  who  were  trying  to  explain  them  to  others,  we  can- 
not be  surprised  at  the  difficulties  the  appraisers  seem  to 
have  experienced  in  defining  the  various  objects. 

Two  kinds  of  the  trunk  face  page  224. 

The  first  development  of  the  simple  chest  was  the  in- 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

sertion  of  a  drawer  below.  Then  came  more  drawers,  till 
we  have  a  bewildering  array  of  chest  with  drawers,  chest 
of  drawers,  nest  of  drawers,  and  case  of  drawers.  The- 
chest  was  the  converse  of  the  cupboard  :  the  latter  was: 
originally  a  series  of  shelves  that  were  gradually  closed  in 
with  doors  and  had  drawers  added,  finally  taking  the  form 
of  a  huge  chest  surmounted  by  a  smaller  one,  as  we  have 
seen  ;  while  the  chest  gradually  had  its  interior  divided  up 
into  compartments  and  drawers.  While  one  became  closed 
in,  the  other  opened  up.  The  cabinet  in  its  most  simple 
form  was  nothing  but  the  chest,  with  drawers  and  shelves 
inside,  shut  in  by  two  doors  into  which  the  front  was 
divided. 

Thomas  Cortmore  of  Charlestown  (1645)  owned  a 
chest  of  drawers,  ^2  ;  a  little  cabinet,  four  shillings  ;  a  lit- 
tle box  of  drawers,  two  shillings ;  two  chests,  four  cases, 
and  three  trunks,  one  of  which  was  covered  with  sealskin. 
Captain  Tinge  (1653)  had  a  sealskin  trunk,  six  shillings  ;  a 
small  chest  of  drawers,  fifteen  shillings ;  a  small  cabinet, 
five  shillings;  a  chest  of  drawers,  ^2-10-0;  an  old  box 
with  drawers,  fifteen  shillings  ;  two  small  chests  of  drawers, 
^i  ;  two  plain  chests,  and  a  cypress  and  a  "great"  chest, 
valued  at  ^5  and  £^  respectively ;  the  carving  on  the 
two  last  must  have  been  profuse  and  ornate  to  justify  such 
prices.  Other  articles  of  this  class  in  the  middle  of  the  cen- 
tury include  a  chest  of  drawers,  five  shillings,  and  others  at 
^i-io-o,  ;^3,  ;£^i-5-o,  and  ^^1-12-0  respectively.  Then  we 
have  cases  and  boxes  of  drawers.  In  1654  we  find  a  **  box 
of  drawers,"  three  shillings,  and  a  "  large  carpet  and  an  old 
case  of  drawers,  j^i-io-o."  As  the  century  advanced,  the 
drawers  multiplied,  and  this  piece  of  furniture  became  more 
elaborate.     In  1670  William  Wardell  has  a  chest  with  five 

»i6 


OAK    DESK 

Madt  in  1684.     In  the  eolUction  of  the  Way  tide  Inn^  Sudbury.      Owned  by  Mr.  E.  R.  Umom. 

Sre  page  220. 

CARVED    OAK    CHEST   AND   SMALL    WRITING-DESK 

O'wned  by  Mr.  Charlti  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Man.        See  page  214. 


CD 

< 
o 


Oh 


D 

O 


a, 

I— t 

o 

H 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

drawers,  j^2,  and  one  with  two  drawers,  j[i-io-o.  In 
1675  John  Freack  has  a  case  of  drawers,  ^^3.  Several  va- 
rieties are  represented  in  this  section.  On  page  213  is 
shown  an  oak  chest  with  drawer,  standing  on  big  ball  feet. 


OAK.    CASE    OK    DRAWERS 
Owned  by  the  Mii^sachutetts  Historical  Society,  BoMon. 


An  oak  case,  or  "  nest  of  drawers,"  standing  on  short, 
square  feet,  is  shown  on  this  page.  The  drt)p  handles 
are  old,  but  are  probably  a  later  addition  to  the  speci- 
men. 

A  simpler  specimen,  belonging  to  the  collection  of 
the  Wayside  Inn  is  shown  on  the  next  page.      Two  of  the 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


OAK    CHEST    WITH    DRAWERS 
From  the  "Wayside  Inn,"  Sudbury,  Mass.      Owned  by  Mr.  E.  R.  Lemon. 

handsome  bell-flower  shaped  handles  are  missing.  Al- 
though the  panels  would  seem  to  show  that  there  are  eight 
drawers,  the  locks  show  only  four.  An  old  chest  or 
"  nest  of  drawers,"  without  knobs  or  handles,  belonging 
to  Mr.  F.  Hotchkiss  of  New  Haven,  appears  on  page  219. 
It  is  of  the  plainest  workmanship.  The  top  lifts  up,  re- 
vealing a  deep  well. 

Chests  of  drawers  were  adorned  with  cloths  as  the  cup- 
boards were.  This  is  distinctly  shown  by  an  item  of  Gov- 
ernor Leete's  inventory  in  Hartford  County  (1682),  which 
reads  **  one  chest  of  drawers  and  cupboard  cloth  belonging 
to  it,  ^2-16-0." 

Z18 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHER.^ 


CHEST    OR    "  NEST    OF    DRAWERS " 
Owned  by  Mr.  F.  Hotchlciw,  New  Haven,  Conn. 


On  page  221  is  represented  a  chest  of  drawers  with 
a  table  top  having  falling  leaves  supported  on  brackets. 
The  wood  is  light  oak  and  is  ornamented  with  the  usual 
black  spindles.  This  piece  is  owned  by  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  Boston,  Mass. 

An  oak  chest  with  two  drawers  faces  page  226. 
Its  panels  arc  edged  with  maple  stained  black,  it  stands  on 
square  feet,  and  it  is  richly  carved.      This  piece  has  long 


ai9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

been  in  the  Talcott  family,  and  is  owned  now  by  Mrs. 
Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn. 

A  further  development  of  the  chest  with  drawers  was 
the  desk  or  **  screetore  "  that  occurs  in  1658  among  Mr. 
Goodyear's  possessions  (see  page  164).  All  that  was  necessary 
was  to  take  a  great  chest  with  two  or  three  drawers  in  the 
lower  part  and  let  down  the  front  of  the  upper  well  on 
hinges,  supporting  it  with  chains.  The  interior  thus  ex- 
posed was  then  filled  in  with  convenient  drawers,  shelves 
and  compartments.  It  is  abundantly  evident  that  some 
form  of  this  desk,  called  the  press  desk,  or  scretore,  existed 
in  New  England  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. John  Cotton  had  a  "press  desk  and  chest,  £\y'  in 
1652.  The  designation  plainly  shows  the  construction. 
The  small  separate  desk  was  also  common.  Simon  Eire 
had  one  in  his  bedroom  (1653);  Chri-stopher  Stanley 
(1646)  owned  two,  and  Robert  Turner  (1651),  one.  A 
box  and  desk  in  Joseph  Weld's  "inner  chamber"  (1647) 
was  valued  at  seven  shillings.  An  oak  desk,  made  in  1684, 
with  the  date  and  initials  W.  H.,  is  shown  facing  page 
216.      It  is  in  the  Wayside  Inn,  Sudbury,  Mass. 

As  early  as  1 669,  Antipas  Boyse  has  an  elaborate  "  scri- 
tore  and  desk  "  valued  as  high  as  j^io.  In  1672,  William 
Whittingham  owns  a  desk  and  frame,  ten  shillings;  James 
Edmunds  (1676)  two  cedar  desks,  ^^i;  Thomas  Kellond 
(1683)  a  scriptore,  ^2,  and  a  small  ditto,  ten  shillings; 
John  Bracket,  a  standing  desk,  standish  and  box,  ;^  1-5-0. 

John  Blackleach  of  Wethersfield,  whose  estate  amount- 
ed to  ^'i  576-19-0  at  his  death  in  1703,  owned  eight  desks, 
one  of  which  was  a  valuable  "  desk  with  drawers,"  ^£^3-1 3-0. 
We  see  therefore  that  long  before  the  end  of  our  period  the 
escritoire  had  already  reached  its  full  development. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

A  bookcase  as  a  separate  article  of  furniture  appears  in 
the  inventory  of  Henry  Bridgham  in  1671.  Books  of  a 
devotional  character  were  plentiful.  Many  worthies  of  the 
colonies  must  have  found  time  for  study  and  meditation 
even  in  the  early  days  of  hardship,  struggle  and  strife.  Re- 
spectable libraries  were  not  uncommon.  The  Rev.  John 
Morton's  729   volumes  of  which   189  were  folios   (1663) 


OAK    CHEST    OF    DRAWERS    WITH    TABLE    TOP 
Owned  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston. 

have  already  been  mentioned.  The  study  frequently  occurs 
as  a  separate  apartment  in  the  best  houses.  Here  the  mas- 
ter might  read  and  write  at  his  ease,  for  it  was  comfortably 
warmed  and  furnished.  John  Cotton's  is  an  early  exam- 
ple. In  1652,  it  contained  a  table,  three  chairs,  a  stool  and 
a  couch ;  and  the  **  liberary  of  books  as  valued  in  the  will 
by  him  though  cost  much  more  ^f  150."  Inside  the  press 
desk  were  of  course  the  usual  quill  pens,  sand-box  and  ink- 
stand, or  standish.  The  latter  was  of  wood,  pewter,  silver 
or  iron.     The  wood  was  sometimes  carved.     Five  shillings 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

was  the  value  of  Henry  Webb's  wooden  standish  in  1660. 
The  desk  equipment  of  Colonel  John  Allyn  (Hartford, 
1696)  comprises  a  standish,  sealing  (wax),  inkhorn,  pen- 
knife, etc.,  and  a  pair  of  spectacles  and  case. 

The  value  of  chests,  trunks,  cabinets,  etc.,  was  consid- 
erably increased  when  accompanied  with  metal  mountings, 
locks,  keys,  and  hinges.  Wrought  iron  and  brass  were  in 
great  demand.  Iron-bound  chests  and  boxes  were  in  most 
shops  and  country  houses,  and  in  many  bedrooms.  It  must 
be  assumed  that  the  majority  of  boxes,  trunks,  cases  and 
chests  had  no  locks,  since  in  many  cases  the  lock  was  worth 
special  mention.  Thus  William  Bartlett  of  Hartford 
(1658)  has  "a  chest  with  a  lock,  ten  shillings."  For  pull- 
ing out  the  drawers,  knobs  were  principally  used.  In  the 
inventories  of  hardware  in  various  stores,  handles  are  very 
seldom  mentioned.  In  1640  John  Harbye  had  two  old 
locks  at  a  shilling  each,  and  four  iron  hinges  at  ten  pence 
each.  Six  years  later  a  pair  of  curtain  rods  is  entered  at 
three  shillings,  while  five  ditto  cost  a  shilling  each  in  1653. 
Prices  scarcely  varied  during  the  next  half  century.  Alex- 
ander Rollo  (Hartford,  1709)  had  a  door  lock  and  key, 
£o-j-6  \  2  chests  with  locks  and  keys,  jfo-15-0;  a  desk 
with  ditto,  ^0-8-0. 

The  cabinet  varied  in  value,  but  not  so  greatly  as  the 
chest  and  cupboard.  A  stray  cabinet  of  Eastern  workman- 
ship is  occasionally  found,  but  when  the  other  kinds  reach 
comparatively  high  value  it  is  due  to  the  articles  contained 
inside.  In  1653  "a  small  cabinet  five  shillings"  occurs. 
In  1654  an  iron-bound  cabinet  is  appraised  at  three  times 
as  much ;  and  a  cabinet,  frame  it  stands  on,  and  cupboard 
cloth,  at  ^2-10-0  ;  but  here  the  cloth  may  have  been  the 
most  valuable  part  of  the  item.      Six  years  later  the  latter 


THK   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

sum  also  would  pay  for  a  "  cabinet  and  some  things  in 
it";  while  another  "cabinet  with  several  things  in  it" 
comes  to  ^^'2,  one  ditto  with  drawers,  seventeen  shillings 
and  six  pence,  and  a  "green  velvet  cabinet,  j[i."  Other 
kinds  of  cabinets  were  known  at  this  time,  although  they 
do  not  appear  till  the  owners  die,  a  few  years  later.  James 
Edmunds  (1676)  has  a  cedar  cabinet,  ^^'i.  A  crimson 
velvet  cabinet  (twelve  shillings)  is  found  in  the  home  of 
Antipas  Boyse  in  1679.  The  cabinet  was  not  necessarily 
a  very  small  piece  of  furniture  as  compared  with  the  chest, 
since,  when  small,  the  entry  often  so  specifies,  as  we  have 
seen.  Moreover,  the  "  frame  it  stands  on  "  indicates  a 
large  object.  The  nature  of  the  articles  that  were  kept  in 
the  cabinets  may  be  gathered  from  direct  evidence.  At  the 
death  of  Henry  Shrimpton  in  1666  a  small  cabinet  con- 
tained seven  gold  rings  and  two  purses,  all  worth  ^^'3.  We 
have  seen  that  there  were  some  blue  china  dishes  in  Mr. 
Francis  Brewster's  East  India  cabinet  in  1647.  Porcelain 
was  coming  in  now  through  the  Dutch  and  English  trade 
with  the  Far  East,  and  not  very  long  after  the  East  India 
Company  was  formed  in  London  many  examples  are  found. 
Governor  Eaton  (see  page  166)  had  a  **  sheney  bason,"  and 
Thomas  Cortmore  had  some  "  chaney  ware  platters,  ;^i." 
A  •*  chaney  dish  and  others  on  the  shelves,  three  shillings," 
belonged  to  Major-General  Gibbons,  while  a  "  chaney  cup 
tipped  with  silver  "  was  owned  by  Humphrey  Damerell  ; 
and  John  Coggan  possessed  "six  small  chany  dishes,  £1.*' 
These  men  all  died  before  1660.  East  India  goods  greatly 
multiplied  in  the  houses  towards  the  close  of  the  century, 
not  only  porcelains  but  the  cabinets  and  other  Oriental  wares 
with  which  we  have  lately  again  become  so  familiar.  In 
1699  John  Higginson  writes  from  Salem  to  his  brother  in 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

India :  **  In  the  late  war  all  East  India  goods  were  ex- 
tremely dear.  .  .  .  China  and  lacker  wares  will  sell  if  a 
small  quantity." 

Although  the  Puritans  frowned  down  all  kinds  of  mu- 
sical instruments  but  the  trumpet  and  drum,  yet  in  the 
privacy  of  their  homes  there  were  many  who  played  the 
virginals  in  New  England.  In  1645  John  Simeon  of  Wa- 
tertown  has  an  old  pair  of  virginals  ;  and  Major-General 
Gibbons  has  another  old  one  worth  ^i  in  1654.  Five 
shillings  is  the  value  of  another  ancient  specimen  ;  but  one 
in  good  condition  is  worth  ^2  in  1667,  and  another  "with 
frame"  comes  to  the  same  in  1672.  A  "  gitterne  "  is  en- 
tered at  a  crown  in  1653  ;  Dr.  Samuel  Allcock  owns  "a 
cittern  and  case"  in  1677,  and  an  old  one  belonging  to 
Thomas  Sexton  (1679)  is  worth  only  a  florin.  An  old 
guitar,  at  sixteen  shillings,  is  found  among  Dr.  John 
Clarke's  possessions  in  1690. 

Clocks  were  found  in  most  of  the  prosperous  homes 
during  the  first  half  of  the  century.  When  Abraham  Shaw 
of  Dedham  passed  from  time  into  eternity  in  1638  his 
clock  was  still  worth  eighteen  shillings  to  others.  One- 
third  of  that  sum  suffices  for  an  old  timepiece  in  1654. 
The  tall  clock  from  the  Low  Countries  was  in  use  here 
many  years  before  it  is  known  to  have  been  made  in  Eng- 
land. It  is  always  described  as  the  "  clock  and  case  "  in 
the  inventories,  and  is  quite  expensive.  In  1652  we  find 
a  brass  clock,  £^2.  ;  and  a  clock  and  case,  ^6.  Specimens 
of  each  appear  facing  page  168.  The  ordinary  clock  aver- 
aged from  j^2  to  ^'3.  In  the  dining-room  of  Sir  William 
Phipps,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  was  one  worth  jf  20,  but 
this  must  have  been  of  rare  workmanship.  "In  my  Ladies 
Room  "  was  also  **  a  repeating  clock,  ^10." 

224 


< 

c 
<  ^ 

^  1 
U    ;> 


I 


e 


i 


^jj'cc^  v.- 


^ 


i^LiUiQ 


1       C 


^ 


."^^ 


i 


i^ 

^ 
^ 

ij 

& 

< 

i 

P 

I 

I    .■ 

gJH^jH^^^^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Watches  were  also  in  use.  Comfort  Starr  had  one 
watch  {£2)  in  1659;  and  ten  years  later  Antipas  Boyse 
owned  a  silver  watch-case  with  watch,  ^'2- 1 0-0.  The  dis- 
tinction between  watches  and  clocks  is  not  always  clear  in 
the  minds  ot  the  appraisers,  for  in  1675  Captain  Samuel 
Scarlet  is  credited  with  "one  watch  with  waites,  ^,1." 
Suf?-dials  are  found,  and  hour-glasses  are  innumerable. 

Looking-glasses  were  also  in  use  here  twenty-hve  years 
at  least  before  they  were  manufactured  in  England.  When 
Rc^bert  Bulton  ceased  seeing  "  through  a  glass  darkly,"  in 
1650,  his  hall  contained  "two  looking-glasses,  twelve  shil- 
lir.gs."  Two  years  later,  one  at  half  a  crown  was  included 
ir  the  estate  of  George  Bennett.  In  1652,  we  find  a  great 
1  ")oking-glass,  ^^i  ;  and  in  1654,  "one  great  looking-Glass 
•)f  ibeny,  £1."  William  Bartlett  of  Hartford,  in  1658, 
owns  ten  looking-glasses,  two  of  them  at  ^*i  each.  The 
inventories  show  a  scarcity  of  this  article  until  the  last 
quarter  of  this  century,  although  of  those  mentioned  several 
are  valued  at  from  three  to  eight  shillings  each,  and  one  as 
low  as  one  shilling.  Metal  brackets  for  candles  were  soon 
affixed  to  the  frames.  Humphrey  Warren  (1680)  and 
John  Winslow  (1683)  each  possessed  a  "looking-glass 
and  brasses."  An  interesting  looking-glass  frame  inlaid 
with  olive-wood  faces  page  230.  This  originally  belonged 
to  the  Rev.  John  White  of  Gloucester  and  was  presented 
to  the  collection  at  the  Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  by  Mrs. 
C.  E.  Bomef.  The  olive-wood  frame  for  looking-glasses 
has  already  been  mentioned  on  page  9. 

The  fireplaces  were  large  and  well  furnished.  Gener- 
ally there  was  an  iron  back,  cast  with  some  figure  or  floral 
design.  Andirons  were  universal ;  they  were  of  brass  or 
iron,  or  iron  with  brass  dog's-heads.     Dogs  are  often  men- 

»»5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

tioned.  They  varied  in  price,  costing  anything  from  five 
shillings  to  fifty  shillings  a  pair.  They  were  always  ac- 
companied by  shovel  and  tongs,  but  the  poker  is  never 
mentioned ;  wood  fires  did  not  require  it.  Sometimes  chim- 
ney-pans and  fire-pans  occur.  Adam  Winthrop  (1651) 
owned  also  an  iron  fender,  and  a  toasting-iron  tipped  with 
silver.  The  hearth  needed  a  pair  of  bellows  in  order  to 
be  fully  equipped.  Some  of  these  were  handsomely  carved 
and  otherwise  ornamented.  In  1650  Captain  Tinge  had 
a  great  lantern  and  a  pair  of  bellows  with  a  brass  pipe,  ten 
shillings ;  and  a  great  pair  of  brass  andirons  and  a  pair  of 
carved  bellows  worth  ^3-10-0. 

Till  comparatively  late  in  the  century,  ofl^ensive  and 
defensive  armour  was  found  in  every  house ;  it  was  needed 
against  the  Indians  as  well  as  for  hunting  purposes.  The 
military  chiefs  also  had  quite  an  arsenal  in  their  houses. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  give  the  furniture  and  equipment 
in  the  artillery  room  of  Major-General  Gibbons  in  the 
middle  of  the  century  (1654).  There  was  a  big  fireplace 
with  andirons;  a  drawing-table  and  large  carpet,  a  long 
cushion,  two  forms,  three  chairs  and  a  case  of  drawers. 
The  arms  consisted  of  seven  muskets,  seven  pistols,  five 
harquebuses,  one  cross-bow,  one  long  bow,  dart  arrows,  one 
pole-ax,  five  glass  grenades,  one  Indian  brusile  club,  sixteen 
pieces  of  armour,  one  complete  corselet  and  pike,  a  cornet, 
and  four  brass  guns  and  carriages. 

The  rooms  in  the  early  houses  were  few  as  a  rule,  though 
spacious.  Sufficient  evidence  has  now  been  produced  to 
prove  that  in  many  cases  elegance  as  well  as  comfort  was 
cultivated  in  the  interior  furnishings,  although  extravagance 
in  the  building  and  furnishing  of  houses  was  discouraged 
by  the  early  Puritans.     Governor  John  Winthrop  reproved 

sa6 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

his  deputy  in  1632,  telling  him  that  "he  did  not  well  to 
bestow  too  much  cost  about  wainscoting  and  adorning  his 
house  in  the  beginning  of  a  plantation,  both  in  regard  of  the 
public  charges  and  for  example."  Winthrop's  advice  was  dis- 
regarded before  the  commonwealth  lost  its  charter,  however, 
and  handsomer  houses  were  erected,  especially  in  Boston. 
The  pious  Judge  Sewall  wrote  to  London  for  finer  furniture 
than  could  be  obtained  in  this  country.  Increase  of  wealth 
bred  luxury,  and  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury the  number  of  wealthy  individuals  rapidly  multiplied. 
A  long  list  might  be  compiled  of  estates  of  more  than 
jf2ooo.  In  the  Boston  records  alone  we  find:  Henry 
Shrimpton  (1666),  ^12,000;  Antipas  Boyse  (1669),  about 
^'2500  ;  Captain  Peter  Oliver  (1670),  ^^4572  ;  James  Penn 
(1671),  ^^2039;  Governor  Richard  Bellingham  (1672), 
^^3244;  Captain  Samuel  Scarlet  ( 1675),  ^^2004;  John 
Freack  (1675),  ^^2391  ;  Joshua  Atwater  (1676),  ^^41  27; 
Thomas  Lake  (1677),  ^2445;  Henry  Mountford  (1691), 
jf  2722 ;  Sir  William  Phipps  (1696),  ^^3337;  Robert 
Bronsdon  (1702),  ^3252;  Richard  Middlecot  (1704), 
;f  2084  ;  Florence  Maccarty  (1712),  ^2922  ;  and  Madam 
Elizabeth  Stoddard  (171 3),  j{"  18,044.  John  Mico,  a  mer- 
chant who  lived  till  171 8,  was  worth  jf  11,230. 

The  Hartford  records  also  show  some  large  estates,  in- 
cluding James  Richards  (1680),  ^^7931 ;  Jonathan  Gilbert 
(1682),  ^^2484;  Colonel  John  Allyn  (1696),  ^2013; 
Richard  Lord  (1712),  ;^6369;  and  John  Haynes  (1714), 
;f333°*  Governor  Leete's  possessions  in  Hartford  County 
alone  came  to  ^^1040;  and  there  were  dozens  of  other 
estates  between  one  and  two  thousand  pounds.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  compare  these  sums  with  the  Southern  estates  on 
pages  109— 1 10. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Josselyn,  who  visited  Salem  in  1664,  said:  "In  this 
town  are  some  very  rich  merchants."  The  records  of  the 
town  show  that  this  was  not  merely  a  complimentary  state- 
ment. Salem's  mercantile  marine  brought  every  kind  of 
foreign  goods  to  her  door.  One  of  her  distinguished 
citizens  was  Captain  Philip  English,  a  trader,  who  built  a 
stylish  dwelling  in  Salem  in  1683.  Down  to  1753  it  was 
known  as  English's  great  house.  During  the  witchcraft 
mania,  in  1692,  he  and  his  wife  nearly  fell  victims,  but 
escaped  by  the  connivance  of  the  authorities.  The  governor. 
Sir  William  Phipps,  seems  to  have  kept  his  head.  The 
witch-baiting  mob,  however,  sacked  Captain  English's 
house  and  destroyed  or  carried  off  the  furniture  that  had 
been  brought  in  on  many  voyages.  Compensation  was 
afterward  offered,  but  refused  as  inadequate.  The  heirs 
afterward  accepted  ^200. 

John  Dunton,  a  London  citizen,  visited  New  England 
in  1685,  and  has  left  some  interesting  notes.  The  first 
person  he  went  to  see  in  Salem  was  George  Herrick,  who 
was  marshal  of  Essex  during  the  witchcraft  mania.  Dun- 
ton  writes:  "The  entertainment  he  gave  me  was  truly 
noble  and  generous,  and  my  lodging  so  extraordinary  both 
with  respect  to  the  largeness  of  the  room  and  richness  of 
the  furniture,  as  free  he  was  that  had  I  staid  a  month  there, 
I  had  been  welcome  gratis.  To  give  you  his  character,  in 
brief,  my  Dear,  he  is  a  Person  whose  Purse  is  great,  but  his 
Heart  greater;  he  loves  to  be  bountiful,  yet  limits  his 
Bounty  by  Reason :  He  knows  what  is  good  and  loves  it ; 
and  loves  to  do  it  himself  for  its  own  sake  and  not  for 
thanks :  he  is  the  Mirror  of  hospitality,  and  neither  Abra- 
ham nor  Lot  were  ever  more  kind  to  strangers."  Herrick 
treated  him  also  to  "all  that  was  rare  in  the  Countrey." 

228 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Dunton  had  a  splendid  supper  and  slept  on  a  **  bed  of  down." 
•*My  apartment  was  so  noble,"  he  writes,  "and  the  Furni- 
ture so  suitable  to  it,  that  I  doubt  not  but  even  the  king 
himself  has  been  oftentimes  contented  with  a  worscr 
lodging.** 

The  better  class  of  house  in  New  England  differed 
from  that  in  the  South  in  seldom  having  a  bed  in  the  hall, 
and  only  occasionally  in  the  parlour.  The  hall  was  the 
general  family  living  and  reception  room,  the  parlour  hav- 
ing an  air  of  greater  intimacy  and  retirement.  The  hall, 
until  the  century  was  well  advanced,  often  contained  an  odd 
mixture  of  severe  and  luxurious  furniture.  In  1670,  Wil- 
liam Warden's  hall  contained  an  expensive  table  and  **  dar- 
nix  carpet  "  with  five  joint  stools  under  it, — their  position  is 
expresslv  stated.  Then  there  were  four  leather  chairs,  one 
small  and  one  big  joined  chair,  and  four  of  the  expensive 
"green"  chairs  accompanied  by  two  stools  with  silk  fringe. 
Five  green  wrought  cushions  added  to  their  comfort.  In- 
stead of  a  cupboard,  there  were  a  great  chest  with  cupboard 
cloth  and  cushion,  and  two  other  valuable  chests  containing 
one  and  five  drawers  respectively.  On  one  of  these  were  a 
bible  and  other  books,  and  over  the  other  was  a  looking- 
glass.     The  hearth  was  garnished  with  the  usual  brassware. 

The  dining-room  was  furnished  with  a  long  cedar  table, 
and  a  small  table  (and  carpet)  with  drawers  in  which  was 
a  case  containing  a  silver  knife,  spoon  and  fork.  (This  is 
the  earliest  mention  of  the  table  fork  in  New  England  that 
I  have  found.)  The  seats  consisted  of  four  leather  chairs 
and  thirteen  joint  stools.  Against  one  wall  stood  a  glass 
case,  on  the  shelves  of  which  were  nine  pieces  of  earthen- 
ware. A  tin  lantern,  a  chimney-back,  andirons,  etc.,  minis- 
tered to  light  and  heat. 

239 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  little  parlour  contained  a  fine  chest  of  drawers 
covered  by  a  green  cloth  with  a  border  and  containing  a 
brush  and  other  toilet  articles ;  a  feather  bed  with  red  cur- 
tains and  valance,  two  cushioned  stools,  two  low  leather  and 
six  matted  high  chairs ;  a  spice-box  with  drawers ;  and  an 
iron  chimney-back,  and  andirons.  The  closet  contained  a 
desk  and  some  lumber. 

Besides  the  kitchen,  the  house  contained  five  other 
rooms,  handsomely  furnished. 

The  house  of  Sir  William  Phipps,  the  governor  already 
mentioned,  shows  a  degree  of  luxury  and  elegance  that  one 
hardly  expects  to  find  in  New  England  in  1696.  This 
home  of  wealth  seems  singularly  modern  as  we  reconstruct 
it.  There  was  no  bed  in  the  hall,  the  furniture  of  which 
consisted  of  two  tables  and  a  carpet,  twelve  cane  chairs  and 
a  couch.  A  large  looking-glass  valued  at  ^8  hangs  on  the 
wall,  and  two  pairs  of  brass  andirons  tell  us  that  two  fires 
burned  brightly  in  this  spacious  entrance.  Passing  into  the 
dining-room,  we  find  no  less  than  three  tables.  There  are 
fourteen  chairs,  "one  couch  and  squabb,"  and  a  clock 
which  must  have  been  exceedingly  handsome,  for  it  was 
valued  at  j[^20.  A  second  looking-glass  worth  just  half  as 
much  as  the  one  in  the  hall  also  adorns  the  room,  and  there 
are  one  pair  of  andirons  and  a  candlestick.  In  the  closet, 
probably  built  in  the  wall,  there  is  a  case  of  "  crystall 
bottles"  worth  ;^i  o ;  and  some  guns,  swords,  etc.,  worth ^i  2. 

In  "  My  Lady's  Room  "  there  stands  a  very  handsome 
bed  with  its  furniture  of  silk  curtains  and  silk  quilt,  valued 
at  j[jo.  For  further  comfort  we  find  a  chest  of  drawers, 
dressing-box,  tables  and  stands,  a  looking-glass  and  six 
chairs.  A  very  valuable  article  is  a  "  repeating  clock" 
worth  no  less  than  ^^lo. 


LOOKING-GLASS   FRAME 

Inlaid  ivrth  otivt  nvooJ.      From  the  IfhippU  Heuje,  Ipttvich,  Mais.     Set  page  2J^- 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  "Hall  Chamber"  contains  a  still  handsomer  bed 
which  with  its  silk  quilt  and  curtains  and  eighteen  cushions 
is  valued  at  j[ioo.  This  room  also  contains  a  "scriptore 
and  stand,  table,  dressing-box  and  stands,"  "twelve  cane 
chairs  and  squabb,"  and  a  looking-glass.  "  Chiny  ware" 
adorns  the  chimney-piece,  where  the  logs  blaze  on  brass 
andirons.  Of  course  the  fire  shovel,  etc.,  stands  conven- 
iently by  the  side  of  the  chimney-piece. 

There  is  also  a  "White  Chamber"  in  the  house,  but 
the  bed  here  is  evidently  simpler,  as  it  is  only  valued  at 
^20  with  its  furniture,  quilt,  and  curtain.  A  chest  of 
drawers,  a  table,  a  looking-glass,  and  six  Turkey-work 
chairs  furnish  the  room.  Here  are  also  two  trunks  and 
linen  valued  at  ^'63-8-0. 

The  "Maid's  Chamber"  contained  a  curtained  bed, 
table  and  looking-glass.  The  "Chaplain's  Chamber"  con- 
tained, besides  the  curtained  bed  and  his  case  of  barber's 
implements  and  gun,  a  table  and  six  leather  chairs.  This 
shows  that  the  condition  of  a  private  chaplain  in  New 
England  was  by  no  means  so  servile  as  that  of  his  brother 
in  the  Old  Country,  and  would  not  have  excited  Macaulay's 
contemptuous  pity.  The  other  apartments  consisted  of  a 
closet  in  which  was  a  bed,  etc.,  and  a  "little  chamber" 
containing  a  negro  woman's  bed  with  curtains,  garrets  for 
the  servants,  and  the  kitchen.  In  the  kitchen,  besides  the 
ordinary  household  and  cooking  utensils,  there  was  silver 
plate  to  the  value  of  ^^415.  Other  possessions  of  Sir 
William  included  a  coach  and  horses,  a  saddle  horse,  and 
a  yacht. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  customary  for  parents 
to  give  their  children  a  generous  portion  of  household  goods 
on  their  marriage.      As  a  rule,  this  was  all   new   furniture 

23' 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  husband.  An  example 
of  the  varions  articles  included  in  this  dowry  is  found  in 
the  inventory  of  Alexander  Allyn  of  Hartford,  who  died  in 
1708.  It  is  headed  "Estate  that  deceased  had  with  his 
wife,  Elizabeth,  in  marriage  (now  left  to  her)."  One  round 
table,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  box,  books ;  white  earthenware, 
glasses,  tin  candlesticks,  a  pair  of  andirons,  tongs  and  slice, 
warming-pan ;  bed  with  curtain,  valance  and  coverings ;  six 
pair  sheets,  six  pair  pillowbeers;  diaper  table  cloth,  twelve 
do.  napkins,  four  table  cloths,  two  dozen  napkins,  sixteen 
towels  ;  one  chest,  a  looking-glass;  one  "  sive";  a  porringer, 
salt,  wine-cup  and  spoon,  all  silver ;  two  trunks,  earthen- 
ware, a  child's  basket;  gridiron,  brass  kettle,  two  brass 
skillets,  iron  pot  and  hooks ;  two  pewter  platters,  eleven 
plates,  one  bason,  nine  porringers,  two  saucers,  one  salt, 
three  drinking-cups,  three  spoons;  tinware,  earthenware 
and  a  stone  jug;  fork  and  skimmer;  trenchers,  two  heaters; 
four  chairs;   in  silver  money,  £()  ;   total,  ^50-7-0. 

A  fine  example  of  a  New  England  kitchen  faces  page 
222.     This  is  in  the  Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  Mass. 


dtit.    II        11        IMI        II 


S      ivc      5 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FOREiFATHERS 


THE  ILLUSTRATIONS  FOR  THE  NEW  ENG- 
LAND PORTIONS  OF  THIS  WORK  AND  A 
NUMBER  OF  THOSE  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE 
ARE  REPRODUCED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 
BY     R.     F.     TURNBULL,      OF      NEW      YORK 


1 


o  « 
a  I 


THE   FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRJTICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGIS 


ILLUSTRATED 


t<M3^    PART  IV     CX>3 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE   &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,    19OI,    BY 

DOUBLEDAY,    PACE   Sc   CO. 

AUGUST,    1901 


CONTENTS 


The  Early  Dutch  Settlers 

First  ships  from  Holland,  235  ;  descriptions  of  New 
Amsterdam,  236—7  ;  wealth  of  citizens,  238. 

Comfortable  Homes  and  Early  F'urniture 

A  Typical  Dutch  House 

Home  of  Cornelis  Steenwyck 

Chairs,  Forms  and  Stools    . 

Beds,   Bedsteads,   Household    Utensils  and 
Children's  Furniture 

House  of  Cornelis  Van  Dyke 

Home  of  Captain  Kidd 

Mar(^etry  and  Mahogany 

Oriental  Goods  and  Furniture  . 

Porcelain  and  Chinaware  . 

Pictures       ..... 

Chimney  and  Cupboard  Cloths  . 

The  Kas       ..... 

Usefulness  and  value,  264;  examples  owned  in  New 
Amsterdam,  265;  the  ball  foot  or  "  knot,"  265-6  ;  the 
glass  case  and  frame,  266. 

Early  Importafions    . 
Woods  Used  for  Furniture 
Wealth  of  fhe  Dutch 
The  Doien-Kammer     . 
Colonial  New  York    . 


235-23^ 

239-242 
242-244 
245-247 
248-250 

250-252 

253-254 
255-256 

256-258 

258-259 

259-261 

261-263 

.  263 

264-267 


267-268 

268-269 

.  269 

.  269 

.  270 


CONTENTS 


Furniture  in  the  Early   Eighteenth  Cen- 
tury ...... 

Walnut  and  olive-wood,  271  ;  Dutch  styles  in  fashion, 
271—2;  homes  of  Captain  Giles  Shelley  and  George 
Duncan,  272—4. 

Home  of  Governor  Burnet  . 

Development  of  the  Splat  and  Advent  of 

Mahogany  Furniture 
Upholsterers  and  Bed-Furnishings 
Paper-hangings    .  .  . 

Architecture  and  Fashions 
Woods  and  Metal  Mounts  . 
Cabinet-makers  .... 
Specimens  of  Seats 
Importations        .... 

Looking-glasses,  ornaments  and  engravings,  292;  mar- 
ble tables  and  other  furniture,  293—4;  carpets  and  floor- 
cloths, 295—6  ;  fire-places  and  chimney-pieces,  296—7 

China  and  Glassw^are 

Tea-Table  Appointments     . 

Ornamental  China 

Luxuries  of  the  Dressing  Table 

Desk  Furnishings 

Clocks  and  Clock-makers  . 

Music  and  Musical  Instruments 

Cards  and  Other  Games,  and  Toys 

Needlework 

Looking-glasses  and  Sconces 

Lamps,  Lanterns  and  Candlesticks 


270-274 


274-276 

277-278 
278-280 
280-282 
283-284 
284-286 
287-288 
289-292 
292—297 


297-299 
299-300 
300-301 
301-302 
.  302 
302-304 
304-306 
307-308 
308-310 
310-311 
311-312 


i^^m^ 


List  of  Illustrations 

WITH      CRITICAL      NOTES     ON     MANY     OF 
THE        PLATES        BY        RUSSELL       STURGIS 


ALL    THE    NOTU    ruRNISHtD    BY    MK.    STOBOIt 
ABE    FOLLOWED     BY     HIS    INITLALS,    B.    (. 


Frontispiece:   Sofa       ....         facing 

Carved  lofa,  about  1 760,  the  covering  of  French  tapestry,  Gobelins  or  Bcauvais,  of  the 
■ame  or  a  somewhat  later  epoch.      R.  S. 


PAGB 

iii 


Kas 


FACING    235 


Cupboard,  with  two  drawers  in  the  base  and  two  in  the  excessively  large  cornice,  probably 
provincial  work  of  about  1 700,  the  reminiscence  of  the  simple  design  of  three-<]uarters  of 
a  century  earlier  still  lingering  ;  but  the  sculpture  late  and  florid ;  perhaps  not  originally 
belonging  to  this  piece.      R.  S. 


Carved  Oak  Cupboard  .  .  .        facing 

Oak  cupboard,  probably  about  1^7^  and  having  in  its  frame,  proportions,  nMuldings,  and 
ironwork  the  suggestion  of  a  still  earlier  date.  It  seems  like  German  work  of  one  of  the 
Rhine  towns,  from  which  it  might  easily  have  been  taken  to  Holland.      R.  S. 


238 


Annetje  Jans's  Chair  . 


Chair  with  black  painted  frame  and  r\ish-bottom  seat.  The  top  rail  b  bowed  ;  the  splat, 
jar-shaped  ;  and  the  front  legs  turned  and  ending  in  hoof  feet.      £.  S. 

Old  Dutch  Chair 

A  heavy  and  solid  chair  painted  black.  The  front  legs  and  front  stretchers  are  turned  ; 
the  turned  posts  terminate  in  plain  legs  ;  there  are  four  slats  and  the  top  rail  is  arched. 
The  seat  is  rich  crimson  damask.      E.  S. 


240 


241 


Two  Chairs  ....... 

The  fint  »  similar  enough  to  one  on  page  49  to  give  it  the  same  date.  It  is  also  similar 
to  those  on  page  188.  The  front  legs  and  stretchers  of  the  second  chair  are  similar,  but 
the  presence  of  curves  shows  that  it  b  a  transitional  chair.  A  little  further  development 
will  produce  the  chair  to  the  left  on  pge  1 84.  Thb  kind  of  chair  was  frequently  covered 
with  leather.      E.  S. 


249 


Dutch  Church  Stool 


FACING   239 


A  small  itool  about  two  feet  long  and  one  foot  high.      It  b  painted  black  and  dated  1 70a. 
It  bean  a  picture  of  the  Last  Judgment  and  a  Dutch  vetBc.     E.  S. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Child's  Chair  and  Mahogany  Tea-Table  .  .   253 

The  chair,  very  solid  and  heavy  and  painted  black,  resembles  in  some  respects  the  chair  on 
page  241.  Its  dark  red  seat  a  much  worn.  Tables  of  the  model  shown  here  were  in 
use  in  Dutch  houses  considerably  before  1 700.  One  with  four  legs  is  to  be  seen  in  an  in- 
terior by  David  Teniers  in  the  Prado,  Madrid.      E.  S. 

Warming-pan,     F'oot-warmers,     Trunk     and     a 

"ScHEPPEL"  .  .  .  .  FACING    254 

The  trunk  and  foot-warmers  may  be  compared  with  the  illustration  facing  page  214.  The 
warming-pan  is  of  copper ;  the  "  scheppcl  "  is  a  grain  measure  used  in  the  New  Nether- 
lands.     £.  S. 

Mahogany  Table  ......   257 

A  table  said  to  have  been  brought  to  New  York  in  1668.  It  is  of  mahogany  and  made 
in  the  old  style  of  the  oak  tables  with  turned  legs  and  stretchers.  The  chairs  on  the  same 
plate  are  much  later.      E.  S. 

Cradles     and     Children's     Chairs     and     Fire 

Screens      .....         facing    255 

Cradle  of  simple  carpenter  work  made  of  four  pieces  of  plank  (for  ends  and  rockers)  and 
fine  pieces  of  board  for  sides  and  bottom.  Handles  are  provided  by  sawed  out  piercings  in 
ends  and  sides,  and  one  of  these  has  split  away  and  has  not  been  repaired. 
Child's  rocking  chair,  made  of  four  pieces  of  board  and  two  pieces  of  heavy  plank  for 
rockers.  The  two  small  holes  in  the  arms  of  the  chair  are  provided  for  a  strap  or  cord. 
A  great  deal  of  interesting  and  possibly  tasteful  work,  which  might  be  produced  in  country 
districts,  is  rejected  or  made  impossible  by  the  modem  disposition  to  have  everything  city- 
Aed  in  appearance.  Good  taste  in  furniture,  and  the  cheap  imitation  of  costly  price  are 
incompatible  and  it  seems  they  cannot  exist  side  by  side.      R.  S. 

Cradle  covered  with  leather  and  dated.  Pieces  made  of  simple  planking  and  boards, 
could  be  covered  with  leather  or  a  textile  material  receiving  in  this  way  more  finished 
and  furniture-like  appearance.  When  there  were  no  skillful  workmen,  the  local  car- 
penter having  no  cunning  beyond  a  simple  handicraft  of  saw,  chisel  and  plane,  such  a 
device  suggested  by  the  covered  travelling  trunks  of  the  period  would  be  resorted  to.  The 
brass-headed  nails  were  easy  to  bring  from  a  distance.      R.  S. 

Mahogany  Table         .  .  .  facing   260 

An  unusually  handsome  specimen  with  regard  to  the  work  and  design.  It  is  made  after 
the  style  of  the  folding  oak  tables,  with  legs  that  move  out  to  support  the  leaves  when 
raised.  The  wood  is  a  very  dark  and  rich  red.  Its  height  is  29^  inches;  its  length,  6 
feet,  6  inches;  and  it  is  5  feet,  1 1  inches,  across  the  shortest  diameter.      £.  S. 

Marc^etry   Cupboard  and   Drawers    .      facing    261 

Chest  of  drawers  with  closed  cupboard;  inlaid  with  light-coloured  wood  and,  probably, 
ivory.  The  style  of  design  is  of  1675;  but  this  was  one  of  those  styles  which  became,  at 
once,  a  recognized  new  step  in  decorative  art,  and  the  designs  which  were  made  during 
the  first  quarter-century  have  been  repeated,  almost  without  change,  ever  since. 
It  is  noticeable  that  the  full  development  of  convex  and  concave  curves  in  the  chest  of 
drawers,  a  well-known  characteristic  of  the  Paris-made  furniture  of  the  time  of  Louis 
XIV,  is  here  shown  only  in  the  frontispiece;  while  the  flank  is  as  square  and  flat  below 
as  it  is  above.  Thb  is  an  artistic  fault,  but  as  a  curious  mark  of  the  Dutch  re-issuing  of 
the  statelier  French  design  it  is  very  interesting  and  not  to  be  wished  away.       R.  S. 

Glass   Case   on    Frame    (MAR(.iUE try)     .      facing   264 

Glass-fronted  bookcase  resting  on  table  frame.  Inlaid,  light-coloured  wood  on  dark 
background,    probably   about    172;.      The   style   seems   to  be  that  weakened  or  lowered 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

rACB 

modification  of  th«  full  Dutch  Inlaid  Cabinet  style  teen  in  pbte  being  162.  The  more 
tlrnder  form*  of  the  leg*,  combined  with  the  ungraceful  shape  of  the  glazed  case  itself  and 
the  complicated  straining-piece  below,  all  indicate  a  decadent  style  in  need  of  a  re-awaken- 
ing influence.      R.  S. 

Walnut   Kas  .....      facing   265 

Chest  of  drawers  with  closed  cupboard,  plain  cabinet  work,  of  any  date  from  i7$o  to 
1800.  A  piece  of  considerable  interest  as  exemplifying  the  simpler  style  of  work  which 
was  hardly  ever  wholly  abandoned  for  domestic  work,  after  its  introduction  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.      R.  S. 

Mahogany   Kas   .......   266 

Chest  of  drawers  and  cupboard,  like  the  hit,  but  still  more  simple,  and  somewhat  less 
elegant  in  design.      R.  S. 

Kas  of  Mar(|ijetry  with  Delft  Plaques     facing   270 

Wardrobe  or  cabinet  solidly  built  of  dark  wood,  the  surfice  inlaid  with  light  colored  woods 
and  ivory  and  having  about  fifty  circular  plaques  of  Delft  ware,  each  separately  framed  with 
delicate  mouldings  in  slight  projection  from  the  general  surface.  The  color  of  the  plaques 
is  in  each  case  blue  and  white  and  these  are  therefore  lighter  than  the  piece  :  the  inlays 
forming  a  third  number  in  the  proportion.  The  sincere  love  of  the  Dutch  workmen  for 
effective  decoration,  while  still  they  retained  a  feeling  for  domestic  simplicity,  is  evidenced 
in  this  piece.  It  is  like  the  English  Jacobean  pieces  ;  which  we  contrast  for  their  simplic- 
ity with  the  statelier  contemporaneous  furniture  of  the  royal  and  princely  households  of 
Fiance  and  Germany.  A  courtier  of  Louis  XIV  would  not  have  esteemed  such  a  combina- 
tion of  pottery  and  woodwork  as  this  ;  but  the  Dutch  were  fond  of  the  idea  and  they  some- 
times used  costly  Chinese  plates  and  saucers  encrusted  in  exactly  the  same  nunner.      R.  S. 

Old  Chest  with  Drawer     .....   270 

A  rough  and  plain  painted  chest  with  a  drawer.  It  has  brass  handles  at  each  end,  two 
locks,  and  the  drawer  is  furnished  with  brass  drop  handles  of  very  old  design,  pendent  firom 
a  circular  brass  plate.      E.  S. 

Three  Chairs       .......   271 

The  chair  in  the  centre  is  of  oak.  Similar  chairs  appear  on  page  6,  and  ficing  page  8  and 
page  z86.  The  other  two  are  of  the  Anglo-Dutch  Khool,  with  cabriole  legs,  ball-and- 
claw  fioot,  acanthus  car\-ed  on  the  knee,  the  top  rail  bowed,  with  carved  shell  in  the  cen- 
tre, and  spbt  pierced.  They  may  be  compared  with  chairs  on  pages  99,  101,  108,  137, 
273,  289  and  309.      E.  S. 

Marquetry  Cupboard  .  .  .        facing   271 

Bookcase,  upper  half  with  glazed  doon ;  frame  and  panels  inlaid  in  the  Dutch  manner 
(see  pbtes  facing  262  and  270).  The  present  lights  of  glass  are  too  large  to  be  the  orig- 
inal pieces,  and  the  case  Una  much  of  its  character  by  the  change.  The  inby  is  one  of 
fine  quality  and  good  design  ;  the  parrots  in  swinging  perches  are  noticeable.      R.  S. 

Four  Chairs  .......   272 

The  tallest  chair,  painted  bbck,  may  be  of  oak,  for  it  b  simibr  to  nuny  already  dexribed. 
The  chair  to  the  extreme  right  n  simibr  to  those  just  described.  The  third  specimen  is  of 
about  the  same  period,  but  has  straight  legs  and  stretchers  ;  while  the  fourth  chair  b  one 
of  Sheraton's  models.      E.  S. 

Mahogany  Chairs  with   Turkey-work    Bottoms 

facing  274 

Two  handsome  examples  belonging  to  the  early  Chippendale  school.  In  proportion  and  in 
detail,  they  are  unusually  fine.     The  simple  jar-shaped  spbt  b  boldly  and  gracefully  pierced 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACE 

and  carved;  the  top  rail  is  carved  and  "  embowed."  The  two  front  feet  end  in  a  very  fine 
ball,  and  the  claw  clasping  it  is  firm  and  strongly  cut.  The  seats  of  Turkey-work  are  in 
pleasing  patterns  of  gay  colors.      E.  S. 

Plate-Back  Chair        ......   276 

An  interesting  example  of  Dutch  design,  with  cabriole  legs,  hoof  feet,  one  stretcher,  em- 
bowed  top  rail,  and  jar-shaped  splat,  forming  a  solid  plate,  unpierced.      E.  S. 

Dutch  Chairs      .......   277 

Three  chairs  of  the  same  period  as  the  above  ;  the  central  one  is  an  early  form  of  the 
chair  that  often  occurs  in  the  American  inventories  as  the  "  crown  back  chair,"  so-called 
from  the  shape  given  by  its  general  outline.      E.  S. 

Mahogany  Table  ....        facing   275 

This  valuable  specimen  belongs  to  the  same  period  as  the  one  facing  page  1 18.  It  b  a  fine 
piece  of  wood.  The  table  has  two  leaves  supported  by  legs  that  move  out  or  in  at  pleasure. 
The  ball-and-claw  feet  are  boldly  carved.      E.  S. 

Settee  ........   279 

This  piece  depends  upon  its  shape  and  its  upholstery  for  its  effect  and  not  its  woodwork, 
for  its  legs  only  are  visible.  These  are  cabriole  in  shape  and  carved,  ending  in  the  ball- 
and-claw.      E.  S. 

Mahogany  Bedstead    .  .  .  .  .  .281 

The  posts  are  carved  and  turned,  tapering  gracefully  toward  the  top.  Unfortunately, 
there  is  neither  cornice,  nor  tester  to  give  to  the  bed  its  proper  finish.  The  blue  and 
white  curtains  are  of  the  same  age  as  the  bedstead.      E.  S. 

Gobelin  Tapestry  Chairs    .  .  .        facing  282 

Two  armchairs  belonging  to  the  same  set  as  the  sofa  (frontispiece)  and  covered  with  sim- 
ilar tapestry.      R.  S. 

Four  Chairs  .....        facing   283 

The  chair  in  the  upper  left-hand  comer,  of  mahogany  with  yellow  damask  bottom,  be- 
longs to  the   same   period  as  those  facing  page  274.      The   splat  is  ornate,  and  the  fool  ■' 
ends  in  the  ball-and-claw.      The  chair  was  brought  to  New  York  in  1763. 
The  oak  arm-chair  next  to  it  is  richly  carved  ;  the  legs  form  with  the  front  rail  a  graceful 
X  and  bear  a  shield  with  a  lion  rampant.      The  stamped  red-leather  seat  is  fastened  with 
brass  naib,  and  a  cushion  of  the  same  material  is  held  to  the  back  by  brass  rings  and  a  cord. 
The  chair  in  the  lower  left-hand  comer  resembles  many  Dutch  models  alreaay  described, 
save  for  the  two  handles,  or  ears,  on  either  side  of  the  back. 
The  chair  in  the  lower  right  comer  is  similar  to  the  one  on  page  271.      £.  S. 

Mahogany  Chairs         ......   289 

Both  chairs  are  a  later  stage  of  development  than  those  on  page  277.  The  seats  of  both 
chairs  are  Turkey-work.      £.  S. 

Three   Chairs      .......   290 

The  two  to  the  left  belong  to  one  set.  The  splat  is  pierced  and  in  the  centre  an  um  or 
vase  appears  neatly  carved.  The  other  chair  has  its  splat  pierced  in  a  graceful  tracery  de- 
sign.     £.  S. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAOB 

Chair  ........   291 

A  somewhat  curious  variety,  with  its  straight  legs  ending  in  dog's  feet,  rush-bottom,  bow- 
shaped  top-rail  and  pierced  and  carved  splat  (]uite  uncommon  as  to  outline.      E.  S. 

Old  Oak   Chair  ......   292 

A  chair  of  the  type  already  shown  on  pages  183  and  190.  The  feet  are  similar  to  those 
of  a  chair  on  page  193.     In  all  probability  the  original  back  and  seat  were  of  cane.    E.  S. 

Old  "Wing"  or   "Saddle-Cheek"   Chair   .        .   293 

A  bedroom  chair  with  stuffed  back,  seat  and  arms.  The  mahogany  legs  are  short  cabriole 
with  ball-and-claw  feet.  Tht  covering  is  a  kind  of  brown  matting.  Another  example 
of  an  earlier  "  wing  "  chair  faces  page  184.      £.  S. 

Corner   Chair      ........   294 

A  simpler  specimen  faces  page  ixi,  with  solid  spbt;  here  the  splat  is  pierced,  but  more 
elaborately  than  that  on  page  123.  It  differs  from  these  examples  in  having  ball-and- 
claw  feet  and  cabriole  legs,  as  well  as  in  the  curious  ornamental  pendents  to  the  rail.    E.  S. 

Two  Chairs  .......   295 

The  one  to  the  left  is  of  the  same  period  as  those  on  pges  183  and  1 90;  the  second 
chair  is  Dutch,  and  similar  to  those  on  page  277  with  the  exceptions  of  its  arms.  The 
splat  has  been  covered  unfbrtuiutely  with  the  same  material  as  the  seat,  as  was  the  chair 
on  page  loi.      E.  S. 

Marquetry  Chest  of  Drawers  and  Glass  Case 

facing   296 

Dutch  inlaid  decoration  of  fine  quality.  The  piece  is  to  be  compared  with  that  shown  in 
plate  facing  262,  and  is  like  that  in  many  of  its  details.  The  decorative  anthemions  on 
the  ends,  springing  from  conventional  vases  resting  on  cu/t  de  lampt,  are  of  great  beauty. 
R.  S. 

Oval  Painted  Table  .  .  .  facing   297 

Table  with  painted  top;  probably  about  1 780.  These  painted  pieces  have  a  double  origin, 
first  in  the  inlays  of  coloured  woods  which,  in  Italy  and  later  in  the  Low  Countries,  had 
been  a  recognized  system  of  decoration  since  the  fifteenth  century,  second,  in  the  magni- 
ficent French  work  of  the  years  1720  to  1770,  of  which  the  celebrated  painting  in 
yernii  Martin  is  the  most  brilliant.  Once  established,  this  fashion  of  painting'the  larger 
surfaces  lasted  until  1840,  and  much  in  reality  and  more  in  possibility  was  lost  when  that 
Athion  disappeared.      R.  S. 

Two  Clocks        .....  facing   302 

Tall  clock,  in  lacquered  case;  the  designs  in  painted  lacquer  appear  to  be  really  of  Japan- 
ese work,  and  it  nuy  well  be  that  the  case  had  been  sent  out  to  Japan  for  the  purpose. 
R.  S. 

Bracket  clock,  the  case  wholly  of  metal,  the  front  and  sides  ebborately  worked  in  pierced 
patterns,  the  dial  inserted  flush  with  the  front  plate  is  modem:  the  clock  is  held  by  hooks 
to  a  strong  horizontal  moulding.      R.  S. 

Two    Bracket  or    Pedestal  Clocks   .  .  .   305 

of  excellent  design.  The  one  to  the  left  contains  arches  at  each  side  carved  in  lattice- 
work; the  second  ckxk,  made  by  Robert  Henderson  of  London,  has  several  chimes.  The 
btter  is  rkhly  omamented  with  metal.     E.  S. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Parlour  Organ  ...... 

This  example  is  52  inches  high  and  26  inches  wide.  The  case  is  mahogany  and  the 
pipes  are  ornamented  with  drapery.  A  bellows  supplies  the  wind.  The  instrument  plays 
ten  English  tunes.     £.  S. 

Mahogany   Card  Table   and   Chair   . 

A  table  that  is  unusual  in  having  five  legs,  one  of  which  draws  out  to  support  the  leaf. 
The  feet  are  claw-and-ball.  The  chair,  also  of  mahogany,  is  similar  to  many  already  de- 
scribed.     E.  S. 


307 


309 


Screen  worked   in    1776 


The  standard  is  of  nuhogany  of  the  pillar-and-claw  type;  the  legs  end  in  the  "snake 
foot";  and  above  the  regular  patterns  of  now  faded  colours  the  date  1776  is  worked. 
£.  S. 


31^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  IV 


KAS,  WALNUT,  VENEERED  WITH    MAHOGANY 

O^juned  by  Miss  Katharine  Van  Rensstlaer,  Flit  Houstf  Rtnsselaer,  N.  T.      Set  page  a6j. 


R,t'5-^"«%ftr-^'->-Jk/^~^v5A-^'-^^^ 


THE   FURNITURE   OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

PART  1V« 

Dutch  and  En^lisK  Periods 

NEW  YORK  FROM  1615  TO  17/6 

■i^/^~^V5I'  f^E  first  pieces  of  furniture  that  were  landed 
on  the  shores  of  the  Hudson  were  probably 
brought  in  the  Fortune^  by  Hendrick  Chris- 
tiansen of  Cleep,  who  founded  in  1615  a 
settlement  consisting  of  four  houses  with  a 
3^^*2«S*^n  population  of  thirty  persons.  The  T/^fr  also 
came  about  the  same  time  under  Captain  Adrian  Blok,and 
these  two  had  received  from  the  States-General  of  Holland 
the  monopoly  of  trade  with  New  Netherland,  consisting 
principally  in  furs.  These  ships  were  followed  by  the 
hittle  FoXy  the  Nightingale ^  and  again  the  Fortune.  In 
1623,  the  Privileged  West  India  Company  sent  out  thirty 
families,  chiefly  Walloons;  and,  in  1625,  the  colonial  au- 
thorities sent  a  vessel  with  six  families  and  their  household 
furniture.     The  population  was  now  about  two  hundred.     In 

»35 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

1626.  the  Arms  of  Amsterdam  arrived,  as  well  as  the  Sea 
MeWy  with  Peter  Minuit  who  got  the  island  of  Manhattan. 
The  Atttis  of  Amsterdam  took  back  to  Holland  8,250  skins 
of  beaver,  otter,  mink,  lynx  and  rat,  together  with  much 
oak  timber  and  nutwood  or  hickory.  This  trading-post 
was  therefore  now  a  success,  but  it  could  not  be  called  a 
town  yet.  Twenty  years  later,  when  Father  Jogues  visited 
New  Amsterdam  and  was  received  by  Governor  Kieft,  he 
wrote  :  **  There  is  a  fort  to  serve  as  the  commencement  of 
a  town  to  be  built  here  and  to  be  called  New  Amster- 
dam. .  .  .  Within  the  fort  there  was  a  stone  church 
which  was  quite  large,  the  house  of  the  governor  whom 
they  call  Director-General,  quite  neatly  built  of  brick,  the 
storehouses  and  barracks.  On  this  island  of  Manhate,  and 
in  its  environs,  there  may  well  be  four  or  five  hundred  men 
of  different  sects  and  nations :  the  Director-General  told 
me  that  there  were  men  of  eighteen  kinds  of  languages  ; 
they  are  scattered  here  and  there  on  the  river  above  and 
below,  as  the  beauty  and  convenience  of  the  spot  invited 
each  to  settle;  some  mechanics,  however,  who  ply  their 
trade,  are  ranged  under  the  fort,  all  the  others  being  ex- 
posed to  the  incursions  of  the  Indians,  who,  in  the  year 
1643,  while  I  was  there,  had  actually  killed  some  two- 
score  Hollanders,  and  burnt  many  houses  and  barns  full  of 
wheat  ....  When  any  one  first  comes  to  settle  in  the 
country  they  lend  him  horses,  cows,  etc. ;  they  give  him 
provisions,  all  which  he  returns  as  soon  as  he  is  at  ease  ; 
and  as  to  the  land,  after  ten  years  he  pays  to  the  West 
India  Company  the  tenth  of  the  produce  which  he 
raises." 

Rensselaerswyck,  now  Albany,  he  describes  as  a  colony 
of  about  a   hundred    persons  residing  in   some  twenty  or 

136 


THE   FURNITURK  OF  OVR    FORKFATHERS 

thirty  houses  constructed  merely  of  boards,  and   thatched, 
there  being  as  yet  no  masonry  except  in  the  chimneys. 

When  Governor  Stuyvesant  arrrived  in  New  Amster- 
dam in  1 647,  the  town  contained  about  1 50  dwellings 
with  about  700  inhabitants.  Most  ot  the  buildings  were 
built  of  wood  and  thatched  with  reeds,  and  some  had 
wooden  chimneys.  Sanitary  conditions  were  almost  in- 
conceivably rilthy,  and  stringent  measures  were  taken  for 
the  construction  of  "  suitable  and  convenient  houses  within 
nine  months."  There  was,  consequently,  great  improve- 
ment in  the  town  during  the  next  ten  years.  Adrian  Van 
der  Donck,  writing  about  1654,  describes  the  fine  kitchen 
gardens  of  the  New  Netherlands,  and  mentions  peaches, 
apricots,  cherries,  figs,  almonds,  persimmons,  plums,  and 
gooseberries,  as  well  as  quinces  from  fc^ngland.  Among 
the  flowers  introduced,  he  enumerates  various  species  of  red 
and  white  roses,  eglantine,  gilly-fiowers,  jenoffelins,  various 
tulips,  crown  imperials,  white  lilies,  the  fritillaria,  anemo- 
nes, baredames,  violets,  marigolds  and  many  others.  In 
1656,  there  were  120  houses  with  extensive  gardens,  and 
1,000  inhabitants.  In  this  year,  the  first  article  of  the  con- 
ditions offered  by  the  Burgomasters  of  the  city  of  Amster- 
dam to  agreement  with  the  West  India  Company  reads: 
"The  colonists  who  are  going  (to  New  Amsterdam)  shall 
be  transported  in  suitable  vessels  with  their  families,  house- 
hold furniture  and  other  necessaries."  The  majority  of 
these  colonists  were  of  the  poorer  class,  but  wealthy  mer- 
chants came  here  in  increasing  numbers,  and  the  trading- 
post  soon  became  a  busy  mart.  With  its  extensive  water 
front,  streams,  canals,  and  meadows,  the  transplanted  Dutch 
town  became  very  homelike.  .Vlast  of  the  houses  were  of 
one  story  with  two  rooms,  and,  rough   as  most  of  the  fur- 

»37 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

niture  undoubtedly  was,  yet  a  good  deal  had  come  across 
the  water.  Articles  of  luxury  were  already  on  the  spot 
and  in  demand.  In  the  Albany  records  for  1654,  we 
read  :  **  Jan  Gouw  and  Harmen  Janse  wish  to  sell  a  certain 
casket  inlaid  with  ebony  and  other  woods."  The  payment 
was  to  be  made  in  "  good  whole  beavers  .  .  .  within 
twenty-four  hours,  without  an  hour  longer  delay."  It  was 
bought  by  Jacob  Janse  Flodder  for  thirty  beavers  and  nine- 
teen guilders.  This  handsome  casket,  therefore,  fetched 
about  $125,  as  beavers  were  then  worth  from  $3.50  to  $4 
each. 

An  example  of  carved  oak  furniture,  such  as  may  have 
been  owned  by  the  wealthy  Hollanders  at  the  time  of  the 
first  settlement  of  New  Netherland,  faces  this  page.  It 
is  a  curious  oak  cupboard  on  a  frame,  left  by  Miss  Mary 
Campbell  to  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and  Art 
Society. 

When  New  Orange  finally  passed  into  English  posses- 
sion in  1674,  ninety -four  of  its  citizens  owned  estates  of 
more  than  a  thousand  guilders.  Twenty-two  of  these  were 
between  five  and  ten  thousand  guilders  each ;  and  the 
wealthiest  were  the  following:  Johannes  van  Burgh,  14,- 
000;  Jacob  Leisler,  15,000;  Johannes  de  Peyster,  15,000; 
Cornelis  Van  Ruyven,  18,000;  Jeronimus  Ebbing,  30,000; 
Jno.  Lawrence,  40,000 ;  Olaf  Stevenson  Van  Cortland, 
45,000  ;  Nicholas  de  Meyer,  50,000  ;  Cornelis  Steenwyck, 
50,000;  and   Hendrick   Philipsen,  80,000. 

In  1677,  there  were  368  houses  and  3,430  persons  in 
New  York;  in  1686,  the  numbers  had  increased  to  480  and 
3,800  respectively.  In  1689,  Albany  had  150  houses. 
Thus,  at  this  date,  the  New  York  dwelling-house  harboured 
from    nine    to  ten    persons   on  an   average.     Though    the 

238 


CARVED   OAK    CUPBOARD   WITH    DRAWERS,   ON   A   FRAME 

Otumtd  by  tht  Albany  Imtitutt  and  Historical  and  Art  S»cittj. 


8 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

rooms  were  few,  therefore,  they  had  to  be  large.  The 
house  of  the  prosperous  merchant  was  of  two  stories  and 
contained  seven  or  eight  rooms.  As  a  rule,  the  New  York 
inventories  do  not  give  the  contents  of  separate  rooms,  but 
the  houseof  John  Winder  (died  1675)  is  one  exception.  Be- 
sides the  shop,  it  contained  six  rooms.  In  the  hall  were 
four  Spanish  tables  covered  with  two  leather  Bristol  car- 
pets and  two  of  Turkey-work,  a  framed  table,  twelve  Tur- 
key-work chairs  and  one  leather  chair,  two  trunks,  two 
stands,  two  looking-glasses,  a  screen,  six  earthen  pots,  brass- 
headed  andirons,  and  a  pair  of  bellows. 

The  boys'  room  contained  a  bed  and  a  chair.  Mr. 
Winder's  chamber  was  furnished  with  a  bedstead,  six 
child's  beds,  two  stands,  two  chests  of  drawers,  four  stools 
with  covers,  two  chairs,  a  close-stool,  a  rire-pan,  andirons, 
dogs  and  brass  tongs.  The  curtains  were  of  wrought  dim- 
ity, a  mantel-cloth  adorned  the  chimney,  and  in  the 
drawers  was  a  lot  of  household  linen,  besides  green  cloth 
and  new  and  old  tapestry  for  hangings.  The  shop  was 
furnished  for  living  as  well  as  trade  purposes.  It  contained 
a  bedstead  with  purple  curtains  and  valance,  four  chairs, 
two  stools,  and  a  glass  case.  The  back  room  had  a  bed- 
stead and  curtains  lined  with  sarcenet,  six  chairs,  a  table  and 
carpet,  a  looking-gkvss  and  andirons.  Grey  hangings  and 
two  chimney-cloths  adorned  this  room.  Two  bedsteads 
and  a  looking-glass  were  in  the  maid's  chamber ;  and  a 
table,  a  form  and  six  chairs  in  the  kitchen.  The  house 
was  liberally  supplied  with  the  usual  linen,  pewter,  earthen- 
ware and  utensils.  Mr.  Winder  also  possessed  447  ounces 
of  silver  plate  valued  at  ^'11  1-15-0. 

The  above  house  has  an  atmosphere  of  solid  comfort. 
There  is  little  of  the  Dutch   feeling  about  it;   it  is  typical 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


of  the  English  merchant.     A  glance  at 
the  homes  of  others  of  this  class  at  the 
beginning  of  the  English  rule  shows  the 
same  conditions.      Nathaniel  Sylvester's 
furniture    {1680)   included  four  tables, 
six  green,  ten  leather  and  twelve  other 
chairs,  a  clock,  a  Turkey-work  couch, 
ten  feather  beds  and  furniture,  two  cup- 
boards   of   drawers,    four 
looking-glasses,  two  great 
chests,  and   two    great 
trunks.    Robert  Story  died 
in  1680  worth  ^^7,572- 16- 
6.        He     owned    an    old 
ebony  chair  worth   ^4,  a 
large  chest  of  drawers,  j[^, 
and  a  large  table,  ^5,  both 
of  black    walnut.       His 
rooms    were    hung     with 
"dornix"  (see  page  17). 

Early  chairs  are  shown 
on  this  .  and  the  next 
page.  The  first,  with  black 
painted  frame  and  rush-bottom  seat,  jar-shaped  splat,  bowed 
top  rail  and  front  legs  turned  and  ending  in  hoof  feet,  is  a 
type  frequently  seen  in  the  works  of  the  Dutch  masters. 
This  chair  is  said  to  have  originally  belonged  to  Annetje 
Jans,  who  came  to  the  New  Netherlands  in  1630.  She  was 
first  the  wife  of  Roelof  Jansen  and  after  his  death  was  mar- 
ried to  Dominie  Everadus  Bogardus.  Her  bouwery^  or  farm, 
was  the  land  on  which  Trinity  church  now  stands.  The 
chair  is  the  property  of  Mrs.  Blanche  Douw  Allen,  of  New 


ANNETJE    JANS'S    CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mrs.  Blanche  Douw  Allen,  New  York, 


140' 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Vork,  having  descended  to  her  through 
the  Douw  family.  A  similar  chair  is 
owned  by  Mr.  Clarence  Townsend,  of 
New  York. 

The  chair  represented  on  this  page 
is  painted  black  and  is  very  heavy  and 
solid ;  it  has  four  slats,  and  simple  top 
rail  arched;  its  turned  posts  terminate 
in  plain  legs,  the  front  legs  and  front 
stretchers  are  turned.  The  seat  is  hand- 
some crimson  damask.  This  chair  has 
long  been  in  the  Pruyn  fam- 
ily, and  is  owned  by  Mr. 
John  V.  L.  Pruyn. 

Facing  page  286  is  an 
oak  armchair  of  beautiful 
design,  the  front  rail  and 
front  legs  forming  a  grace- 
ful X,  carved  with  a  leaf 
pattern,  and  a  shield  bearing 
a  lion  rampant.  The  seat  is 
of  dark  red  leather  fastened 
by  brass  nails.  A  cushion  of 
the  same  material  is  held  to 
the  sides  by  brass  rings  and 
cords.  This  artistic  design  is 
familiar  through  the  pictures  of  the  Dutch  masters.  It  be- 
longs to  the  estate  of  Mary  Parker  Corning,  and  is  now  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and  Art  Society. 

The  difference  between  New  York  and  New  England 
houses  was  sufficiently  marked  to  strike  a  stranger.  In 
Madame  Knight's   'journal  (1707),   we  have  direct  testi- 

141 


OLD    DUTCH    CHAIR 

Owned  by  Mr.  John  V.  L.  Pruyn,  New  York. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

mony  :  "  The  Cittie  ot  New  York  is  a  pleasant,  well  com- 
pacted place  situated  on  a  commodious  River  w**  is  a  fine 
harbour  for  shipping.  The  Buildings,  Brick  generaly, 
very  stately  and  high,  though  not  altogether  like  ours  in 
Boston.  The  Bricks  in  some  of  the  Houses  are  of  divers 
Coullers  and  laid  in  Checkers,  being  glazed  look  verv 
agreeable.  The  inside  of  them  are  neat  to  admiration,  the 
wooden  work,  for  only  the  walls  are  plastered,  and  the 
Sumers  *  and  Gist  are  plained  and  kept  very  white  scowr'd, 
as  so  is  all  the  partitions  if  made  of  Bords.  The  fire- 
places have  no  Jambs  (as  ours  have).  But  the  Backs  run 
flush  with  the  walls,  and  the  Hearth  is  of  Tyles,  and  is  as 
farr  out  into  the  Room  at  the  Ends  as  before  the  fire,  w*^'' 
is  generally  Five  foot  in  the  Low'r  rooms,  and  the  peice 
over  where  the  Mantle  tree  should  be  is  made  as  ours  with 
Joyners  work,  and  I  suppose  is  fasten'd  to  iron  rodds  in- 
side. The  house  where  the  Vendue  was,  had  Chimney 
Corners  like  ours,  and  they  and  the  hearths  were  laid  w*** 
the  finest  tile  that  I  ever  see,  and  the  stair  cases  laid  all 
with  white  tile,  which  is  ever  clean,  and  so  are  the  walls 
of  the  Kitchen  w'^''  had  a  Brick  floor." 

The  above  description  was  written  at  the  end  of  the 
period  now  under  review,  when  the  town  had  not  yet  lost 
much  of  its  Dutch  character.  The  arrangement  of  the 
common  living-room  of  the  ordinary  Dutch  home  can  be 
readily  reproduced.  The  most  striking  feature  was  the 
ornamental  chimney-piece,  five  feet  square,  as  Mme.  Knight 
above  explains.  The  Dutch  love  of  carving  is  well  known. 
When  the  owner  was  wealthy,  the  chimney-piece  would 
be  quite  elaborate  with  caryatides  surmounted  by  the  con- 

*  Sumen  U  the  "central  beam  supporting  the  joist,  such  aa  is  now  sometimes  called  the  bearing 
beam." 

24a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

soles  supporting  the  oak  entablature  ornamented  with  mo- 
tives picked  out  in  ebony,  or  wood  stained  in  imitation.  On 
th»  cornice,  stood  various  vessels  of  brass  repousse  and  Delft 
ware.  The  hearth  had  a  large  cast-iron  ornamented  back,  the 
sides  being  faced  with  faience  tiles  often  representing  per- 
sonages in  contemporay  costume.  Andirons  with  brass 
handles,  heads  of  dogs,  or  lions,  an  iron  rack  for  the  fire- 
irons,  pot-hooks,  spits,  ii  great  "  kettle,"  a  pair  of  bellows, 
a  warming-pan,  and  pewter,  brass,  or  iron  candlesticks  were 
all  to  be  found  about  this  important  feature  of  the  cham- 
ber. Not  far  away,  stood  the  large  table  with  its  carpet,  or 
several  small  ones.  At  meal  times,  the  wealthy  burgher's 
table  would  be  garnished  with  fine  diaper  or  damask  cloth 
and  napkins,  a  great  silver  salt-cellar  of  fine  workmanship, 
silver  beakers,  spoons,  knives  with  handles  of  silver,  agate, 
ivory,  or  mother-of-pearl,  an  occasional  silver  fork  in  wealthy 
homes,  -^  jugs,  mugs,  glasses,  plates  and  dishes  of  pewter, 
earthenware,  or  porcelain.  Sometimes  the  glasses,  cups,  or 
mugs  had  silver  or  pewter  covers.  Near  the  host's  great 
chair  would  be  a  large  wine-cooler,  or  cistern  of  pewter  or 
repousse  copper.  Affixed  to  the  wall  is  a  board  with  hooks 
and  a  shelf  above.  Here  hang  pots  and  vessels  of  all 
shapes  and  sizes,  and  on  the  shelf  is  some  of  the  fine  Delft 
ware  in  which  the  mistress  takes  such  pride.  There  is  aLso 
a  large  provision  cupboard,  and  above  it  hangs  a  looking- 
glass  with  an  ebony  frame  of  waved  mouldings.  Close  by 
stands  a  great  linen   press,  and  perhaps  a  second  •*  Kas  "  is 


*  Fork*  were  very  tcarce  before  1670.  In  1668,  Governor  Eaton  be<)ueathes  a  *'  «ylver  meat  fork  " 
to  Mn.  Abigail  NichoU.  George  Cooke  owru  one  in  1679.  Nine  niver  spoons  and  six  forks  cost  j^io 
in  1690.  It  is  surprising  how  long  it  took  for  them  (o  become  popular;  there  was  a  strange  prejudice 
against  them.  In  Nicholas  Breton's  Tkt  Courtur  and  the  Countryman,  wc  read:  ''For  us  in  the 
country,  when  we  have  washed  our  hands  after  no  foul  work,  nor  handling  any  unwholesome  thing,  we 
need  no  little  turks  to  make  hay  with  our  mouths,  to  throw  our  meat  into  them." 

H3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

also  in  the  room.  A  bright  and  charming  Frisian  clock 
(such  as  appears  facing  page  302)  ticks  on  the  wall.  In 
the  background,  a  stairway,  more  or  less  ornamental,  with 
plain  banisters  or  turned  balustrading,  leads  to  the  rooms 
above;  and  under  it  stand  casks,  and  a  lantern  hangs  there 
to  light  the  descent  to  the  cellar.  A  carved  oak  glass 
stand,  or  rack,  is  also  frequently  found ;  and  on  it  are  gob- 
lets and  glasses  of  all  dimensions.  Pails,  brushes,  brooms, 
and  all  the  implements  for  washing  and  scouring  are  con- 
veniently at  hand.  The  window,  with  leaded  diamond  or 
square  panes,  has  an  exterior  framing  of  creepers  or  rose- 
tendrils.  At  the  entrance,  or  in  the  vestibule,  were  some- 
times to  be  found  faience  plates  breathing  the  spirit  of  easy- 
going good-nature  characteristic  of  the  race.  A  typical 
one  bears  the  legend : 

*'  Al  wat  gij  ziet^  en  oordeel  met. 
Al  wat  gij  hoord^  en  geloof  niet. 
Al  wat  gij  weet^  en  zeg  niet. 
Al  wat  gij  vermoogt.,  en  doet  niet" 

(Don't  judge  all  that  you  see.  -: 

Don't  believe  all  that  you  hear. 
Don't  utter  all  that  you  know. 
Don't  do  all  that  you  can  do.) 

Another  plate,  representing  a   grotesquely-garbed  indi- 
/idual,  reads  : 

*'  Huijs  is  noijt  2,ond 
Gikkin  die  het  niet 
In  dient  de  kan  verstrekken  " 

(This  house  is  never  lacking  in  fools;   he  who  does 
not  amuse  himself  in  it  can  get  out.) 

The   Friesland   clock,   mentioned  above,   is  about   200 
years  old.     It  is  owned  by  the  Rev.  John  van  Burk,  Johns- 

»44 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

town,  N.  Y.,  and  is  in  the  rooms  of  the  Albany  Institute 
and  Historical  and  Art  Society.  The  mermaids,  cherubs, 
eagles,  and  other  ornaments  upon  it  present  a  bewildering 
and  beautiful  combination  of  scarlet,  blue,  white  and  gold. 
The  pictures  on  and  above  the  dial  are  delicately  painted. 

The  wealthy  Dutch  merchant  naturally  had  more 
numerous  and  luxurious  apartments  than  the  home  above 
described.  Like  his  English  brother,  his  rooms  were  full 
of  hangings,  bric-a-brac^  porcelains,  .plate,  and  furniture  of 
the  choicest  woods,  marquetry  and  lacquer.  We  will  now 
examine  a  house  of  this  class. 

Cornelis  Steenwyck,  the  second  wealthiest  citizen  of 
New  Amsterdam  when  it  passed  into  English  hands,  be- 
came Mayor  of  New  York  and  died  in  1686.  His  estate, 
including  debts,  then  amounted  to  ^f  15,931-1 5-1.  He 
owned  one  house  south  of  Bridge  Street  and  east  of  the 
Fort,  £'Joo  ;  another,  a  little  to  the  north,  ;^300  ;  a  gar- 
den between  the  houses  of  Peter  Doriemer  and  Stephanus 
Van  Cortlandt,  ^jo ;  and  "  a  small  slip  of  ground  lying  in 
the  broad  way  on  the  back  part  of  the  lot  of  Laendert 
Vandergrift,  22  feet  by  15  feet,  ^{"7."  Thus  Broadway 
real  estate  was  already  valuable.  His  home  is  a  good  type  of 
that  of  the  wealthy  burgher.  It  was  an  eight-roomed  house 
with  cellars,  etc.  In  the  (Jreat  Chamber,  was  ^^465-3-75^^ 
in  money,  besides  jewelry  worth  j^'52-4-0,  and  730  ounces 
of  silver  plate  worth  £^z 1 9.  It  was  elaborately  furnished 
with  a  round  table  [J^i)  and  square  table  (^10),  twelve 
Russia  leather  and  two  chairs  with  fine  silver  lace,  a  cabinet 
(j^'6),  a  great  looking-glass  (j^6),  and  a  very  valuable 
"cupboard  or  case  of  French  nutwood  "(^'20).  Fourteen 
fine  pictures  adorned  the  walls,  and  there  was  a  pair  of 
flowered  tabby  curtains  for  the  glass  windows  and  a  chim- 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ney-cloth  of  the  vsame  material.  The  ftre-place  was  sup- 
plied with  a  **  hearthe  iron  with  brass  handles  ";  and  one 
part  of  the  room  was  given  up  to  a  big  bedstead  with  its 
furnishings,  and  a  dressing-box.  There  was  also  a  **  cap- 
stock,"  or  rack  to  hang  clothes  on,  besides  some  table-linen, 
striped  tapestry,  silver  lace,  feather  plumes,  three  chamber 
brooms  and  a  carpet.  On  the  chimney-piece  and  in  the 
great  cupboard  and  cabinet  were  five  alabaster  images,  nine- 
teen porcelain  dishes,  an  ivory  compass  and  two  flowered 
earthen  pots.     All  this  sounds  very  luxurious  and  attractive. 

The  Fore  Room  contained  a  marble  table  with  wooden 
frame,  another  table  of  wood  with  a  carpet,  one  matted 
and  seven  Russia  leather  chairs,  one  "foot  banke,"  a 
cushion,  a  clock,  eleven  pictures,  and  three  curtains  over 
the  glass  windows.  This  forms  a  very  pleasant  sitting- 
room. 

In  the  ** withdrawing  room"  were  two  chairs,  a  cabi- 
net (;^4),  a  chest,  a  trunk,  a  capstick,  a  close-stool,  a 
cushion,  eight  pictures,  and  five  china  dishes,  besides  a  lot 
of  dry-goods. 

The  kitchen  chamber  was  evidently  the  common  fam- 
ily living-room.  It  contained  five  Russia  leather,  three 
matted,  and  four  other  chairs,  an  oval  table  with  woolen 
cloth,  a  bedstead  and  furniture  with  iron  rods  and  curtains, 
a  case  for  clothes,  two  small  trunks,  two  cushions,  a  chim- 
ney-cloth, a  tobacco-pot,  a  glavss  lantern,  a  looking-glass 
and  a  great  quantity  of  linen  and  earthenware.  There 
were  also  three  wooden  racks  for  dishes  and  a  "  can-board 
with  hooks  of  brass."  The  latter  appears  in  many  a  Dutch 
interior  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  other  rooms  comprised  the  after-loft,  chamber 
above  the  kitchen,  cellar-kitchen,  upper  chamber  for  mer- 

Z46 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

chandise,  cellar  and  garret.  There  was  also  a  small  stable, 
and  "in  the  streete"  were  fir  planks,  an  iron  anchor, 
hoard  and  Holland  pan  tiles.  Among  the  host  of  miscel- 
laneous household  goods  and  utensils,  we  note  a  "cupboard 
or  case  of  drawers,"  two  painted  screens,  a  tick-tack  board, 
a  paper-mill,  some  black  lead  and  blue,  tin  ware  to  bake 
sugar  cakes,  a  marsepyn  pan  (marzipan  or  marchpane,  a 
sweet  confection  of  almond  paste  and  sugar),  {£2 ),  two  tin 
water  spouts,  thirteen  scrubbing  and  thirty-one  rubbing 
brushes,  twenty-four  pounds  of  Spanish  soap  and  seven 
brushes. 

The  household  utensils  and  domestic  conveniences  in 
New  York  were,  as  a  rule,  more  varied  and  more  numer- 
ous than  in  New  England  and  the  South.  Cleaning  and 
scrubbing  utensils  especially  were  abundant;  a  few  items  of 
this  nature  from  inventories  before  1 700  are  as  follows : 
Whitening  brushes,  scrubbing  ditto,  painting  brushes,  hair 
ditto,  dust  ditto,  chamber  brooms,  "hearth  hair  brushes 
with  brass  and  wooden  handles,"  hearth  brooms,  rubbers, 
"brush  to  clean  ye  floor,"  "dust  brushes  called  hogs,"  floor 
brushes,  rake  ditto,  "  Bermudian  brooms  with  sticks,"  sticks 
to  hang  the  clothes  upon,  washing  tubs,  pails,  rainwater 
casks,  glass  knockers  to  beat  clothes,  "  tin  wateren  pot  to 
wet  clothes,"  wicker  baskets,  smoothing  irons,  boards  "  to 
whet  kni\es  upon,"  clothes  brushes,  leather  buckets,  fire 
buckets,  Dutch  hampers  and  Bermuda  baskets,  and  scrub- 
bers tied  with  red  leather. 

An  important  personage  in  Albany  was  Dom  Nicholas 
Van  Rensselaer,  who  died  in  1679.  His  house  near  the 
mill,  worth  1,200  guilders,  contained  a  generous  supply  of 
linen,  china,  earthenware,  silver  plate,  pewter,  brass  and 
iron.      The  wooden  furniture  comprised  two  beds,  a  chest 

»47 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  drawers,  two  looking-glasses,  a  globe  of  the  world,  a 
brown  table  of  nutwood,  a  chest  of  the  same,  an  oak  table, 
a  table  of  pine  with  six  stools  or  chairs,  a  sleeping  bank 
(see  page  250)  of  pine,  an  old  coffer  with  a  desk,  a  seal, 
a  wooden  sand-box  and  a  brush,  twenty-one  pictures  and 
the  King's  Arms.  Some  of  the  miscellaneous  articles 
included  "an  instrument  to  swim  withal,  a  tin  pan  to  roast 
apples,  a  flat  dish  to  boil  fish  on,  a  brass  pocket  watch 
that's  out  of  order,  and  a  fflagilet  tipt  with  silver."  The 
above  furniture  was  certainly  not  excessive  for  four 
rooms,  of  which  this  house  probably  consisted. 

The  curious  old  Dutch  chair,  seen  facing  page  286 
(lower  left-hand  corner),  is  owned  by  Mr.  Gardner  Cotrell 
Leonard,  of  Albany.  It  has  cabriole  front  legs  ending  in 
hoof  feet,  turned  stretchers,  a  jar-shaped  splat  and  two 
handles,  or  ears,  at  the  sides. 

The  New  York  inventories  give  quite  a  different  im- 
pression from  those  of  the  South,  or  even  of  New  England. 
It  is  plain  that  the  oak  age  is  past.  The  drawing-table 
(see  page  63)  still  survives,  but  the  newer  forms  of  light  fur- 
niture are  rapidly  driving  out  the  solid  and  cumbrous  styles. 
In  the  poorer  houses,  tables  and  chairs  are  scarce,  and  very 
roughly  constructed;  in  the  richer  homes,  the  latter  are 
good  and  plentiful.  Between  1680  and  1700,  a  merchant's 
house  would  contain  from  thirty  to  fifty  chairs  in  ad- 
dition to  forms  and  stools.  The  latter  were  not  numerous. 
Turkey-work,  turned,  matted,  Russia  leather  (single  and 
double  nailed),  Spanish  leather  and  cane  chairs  are  the 
principal  varieties.  Typical  specimens  of  the  day  are  shown 
facing  page  286  and  on  page  249.  The  most  ornate,  fac- 
ing page  286  (right-hand  below),  is  from  the  Schuyler 
house,  on  the  Flats,  Troy   Road,   N.   Y.      Similar  chairs 

248 


•*^  a 


\\ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CHAIR    FROM    WHITEHALL 
Owned  by  Mr».  Cuylcr  Ten  Eyck,  Albany. 


CHAIR    FROM    WHITEHALL 
Owned    by   Mrs.    Cuyler  Ten   Eyck,    Albany. 


appear  also  on  page  271  and  facing  page  8.  The  other 
chairs  are  owned  by  Mrs.  Cuyler  Ten  Eyck,  Albany,  and 
came  from  her  home,  Whitehall^  the  CJansevoort  house. 

Ebony  chairs  were  possessed  by  a  few  families.  **  P'oot- 
banks"  often  added  to  bodily  ease.  Enough  has  been  said 
about  the  chairs  of  the  period  in  former  sections,  so  there 
is  no  need  to  dwell  on  them  here.  Church  chairs,  stools 
or  stoofts  are  quite  general  in  the  houses ;  they  were  car- 
ried to  worship  when  wanted.  One  of  these,  shown  facing 
page  250,  belongs  to  Mr.  George   Douglas   Miller,  and  is 

»49 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

now  in  the  rooms  of  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical 
and  Art  Society.*  It  is  painted  black  and  bears  a  picture 
of  the  Last  Judgment  in  colours;  the  angel  is  seen  separat- 
ing the  sheep  from  the  goats.  Beneath  is  the  date  1 702, 
and  the  following  inscription : 

*■*■  Het  oordeel  Gotsir  nu  bereijt 
Het  is  nogtijt  Laet  onsinc'tngt 
De  vroome  van  de  Boose  Scheyt 
Godt  beddenom  des  Heemals  ovengt. 

("  The  judgment  of  God  is  now  prepared 
There  is  still  time,  leave  unwisdom 
The  pious  will  be  separated  from  the  wicked 
God's  wisdom  encircles  the  universe.") 

Tables  are  generally  the  same  as  elsewhere ;  the  side  or 
sideboard  table,  with  or  without  drawers,  is  frequently 
present. 

Though  the  high-post  bedstead  was  common,  in  some 
of  the  Dutch  homes  the  bedstead  was  a  kind  of  sleeping- 
bunk  [slaap-banck)^  a  shelf  with  doors  in  the  wall;  this 
bedstead  was  literally  the  bed-place  and  not  an  ornamen- 
tal piece  of  furniture.  This  arrangement  is  still  to  be  seen 
in  many  farm-houses  of  northern  Europe,  Normandy  and 
Brittany,  and  constantly  appears  in  the  pictures  of  Gerard 
Dou,  Jan  Steen  and  other  contemporary  Dutch  painters. 

Little  beds,  trundle  beds  (known  as  slaap  banck  op  rol- 
len)y  tent  beds  with  curtains,  sleeping  benches,  press-beds 
and  bedsteads  "on  fold"  were  other  varieties.  Slaves  had 
to  be  content  with  rough  sleeping  accommodations.  A 
temporary  shake-down,  or  rough  cot,  such  as  guests  had  to 
put  up  with  at  festival  time,  was  called  a  Kermesse  bed. 
When   Jaspar    Dankers  and   Peter   Sluyter,  the  Labadists, 

*  This  of  course  is  a  small  stool,  but  has  been  reproduced  on  a  very  large  scale  in  order  to  show  the 
picture  upon  it. 

150 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

visited  Simon  at  Gouanes  in  1690,  they  noted  in  their 
journal :  **  It  was  very  late  at  night  when  we  went  to  rest 
in  a  Kermis  bed,  as  it  is  called,  in  the  corner  of  the  hearth, 
alongside  of  a  good  fire."  The  warming-pan  of  copper  or 
brass  was  always  in  requisition.  One  belonging  to  Mrs. 
Robert  R.  Topping,  of  Albany,  is  represented  facing  page 
254  with  some  other  articles  now  in  the  rooms  of  the  Al- 
bany Institute  and  Historical  and  Art  Society.  These  are 
foot-warmers,  owned  by  Messrs.  Bleecker  and  James  B. 
Sanders,  and  a  "scheppel,"  a  Dutch  grain  measure  used  in 
the  New  Netherlands,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  S.  G.  Bradt, 
and  a  trunk  belonging  to  Mrs.  Anna  de  Peyster  Douw  Mil- 
ler. A  fine  brass  warming-pan,  marked  with  the  initials 
of  Philip  Van  Rensselaer,  is  at  Cherry  Hill,  Albany. 

We  also  find  a  multifarious  assortment  of  cooking  uten- 
sils and  implements,  including  pots,  funnels,  pans,  cullen- 
ders, kettles,  chocolate-pots,  apple-roasters,  cake  and  pie 
pans,  sugar-cake  pans,  posset-pans,  marchpane-pans,  strain- 
ers, fish-kettles,  skillets,  jacks,  spits  and  trammels. 

Among  the  miscellaneous  household  goods  mentioned, 
we  note  steel  to  strike  fire  with,  tinder-box,  candle-box, 
rack,  spice-box,  kettle-bench,  mustard-querne,  spoon-rack, 
thing  to  put  spoons  in,  sand-box,  tobacco-box,  spue-box 
(which  sometimes  had  a  drawer),  paper-mill,  frame  for 
clothes  to  hang,  rack  to  hang  clothes  and  caps  upon,  hour- 
glass, weather-glass,  dressing-stick  and  board,  comb-box, 
black  walnut  paper-box  and  rolling  board  for  linen. 

The  attention  paid  to  the  comfort  of  children  is  often 
apparent.  Among  the  frequent  entries  are  children's  bed- 
steads, cribs,  cradles,  small  children's  trunks,  child's  stools, 
sucking-bottles,  nurse-chairs,  rocking-chairs,  childbed  bas- 
kets, and  toys  and  playthings.     *•  Fenders  to  keep  children 

151 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

from  the  fire"  are  specially  mentioned.  Three  interesting 
pictures  appear  facing  page  258  and  on  page  253. 

The  first  represents  a  cradle  belonging  to  the  Pruyn  fam- 
ily and  a  child's  rocking-chair  used  by  Sarah  Lansing.  Be- 
hind this  stand  two  fire-screens  (the  latter  belonging  to  the 
estate  of  Mary  Parker  Corning)  now  in  the  Albany  Insti- 
tute and   Historical  and   Art  Society. 

The  second  shows  an  old  cradle  covered  with  leather 
and  ornamented  with  brass  nails  also  forming  date  1749, 
and  a  child's  high  chair,  with  turned  posts  and  stretchers, 
and  bearing  a  bar  for  the  feet.  The  seat  is  covered  with 
leather.  These  pieces  have  always  been  in  the  Van 
Rensselaer  family,  and  are  now  owned  by  Mrs.  H.  Van 
Rensselaer  Gould,  of  East  Orange,  N.  J.,and  are  preserved 
in  the  Van  Rensselaer  house.  Cherry  Hilly  Albany. 

The  third  is  a  child's  chair  long  in  the  Lansing  fam- 
ily. This  belongs  to  Miss  Anna  Lansing  in  Albany.  The 
"tip  and  turn"  tea-table  of  mahogany  with  ball-and-claw 
feet  is  of  later  date.      This  also  belongs  to  Miss  Lansing. 

For  lighting  the  halls  and  rooms,  there  were  lanterns, 
earthen  and  other  lamps  and  a  great  variety  of  candlesticks. 
These  were  of  pewter,  tin,  iron,  brass  and  more  precious 
metals.  Silver  candlesticks  were  not  rare,  and  some  of  these 
were  of  elaborate  form  and  workmanship.  Besides  the 
simpler  kinds  that  stood  on  tables  and  shelves,  there  were 
high-branched  standing  candlesticks,  sconces  and  arms 
on  the  walls,  and  candelabra  hanging  from  the  ceilings. 
A  double  brass  hanging  candlestick  with  snuffers  and 
extinguisher  was  worth  ^1-4-0  in  1696.  Some  of  the 
varieties  were  hand-candlesticks,  brass  hanging  and  handle 
candlesticks,  brass  standing  ditto,  standing  ditto  with 
two  brass  candlesticks  to  it,  and   brass-plated  candlestick. 

252 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Cornelis  Van  Dyke  (1686),  whose  estate  amounted  to 
1,428  beavers,  had  a  typical  mixture  of  furniture  in  his 
house.  One  room  contained  a  wahiut  bedstead  with 
dark  say  hangings  and  silk  fringe,  a  walnut  chest  contain- 
ing a  spare  suit  of  serge  hangings,  a  painted  chest  of 
drawers,  **  a  walnut  chest  of  drawers  with  a  press  for  nap- 


A    CHILD  S    CHAIR    AND    MAHCX3ANY    TEA    TABl.K 
Owned  by  Miss  Anna  Lansing,  Albany.     S«e  page  252 

kins  atop  of  it,"  an  oak  chest  of  drawers,  an  oak  table  and 
carpet,  eight  Spanish  stools,  a  walnut  capstock  to  hang 
clothes  upon,  a  red  table  that  folds  up,  an  old  case  without 
bottles,  a  hanging  about  a  chimney ;  and  the  usual  linen 
brass,  pewter,  earthenware  and  glass.  The  Fore  Room 
was  furnished  with  a  bedstead  and  green  say  suit  of  hang- 
ings, another  bedstead  of  oak,  a  painted  chest  of  drawers, 
a  wooden  table,  ten   matted  chairs,  a  Spanish  leather  stool. 


»si 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  looking-glass,  three  pictures,  '*  tour  racks  that  the  pewter 
stands  on  and  earthenware,"  a  desk,  a  pewter  standish,  a 
painted  eight-cornered  table,  three  chests,  a  leather  hat 
case,  andirons,  fire-irons,  bellows,  long  and  short  handled 
brushes  and  the  usual  kitchen  stuff.  In  the  shop  was  a 
sleeping  bed  of  pine  wood  and  bedding  for  the  servant,  and 
"before  the  door  a  wooden  sleigh." 

From  the  above  examples,  it  is  evident  that  in  the  aver- 
age home  there  was  no  distinction  between  sitting-  and 
sleeping-rooms,  and  the  hall  is  rarely  named  as  an  apart- 
ment, but  that  in  the  richest  families  the  rooms  were  some- 
times reserved  for  distinct  purposes.  Col.  Lewis  Morris 
(169 1,  j^'4928-17-1 )  had  a  bed  in  his  dining-room  as  well 
as  in  the  great  room  and  lodging-room,  Thomas  Crun- 
dell's  hall  (1692)  contained  a  bed.  The  other  furniture  in 
this  hall  consisted  of  small  square  and  large  oval  tables,  cup- 
board, black  walnut  chest  of  drawers,  glass  case  of  the  same 
wood,  seven  leather  and  three  Turkey-work  chairs,  a 
chamber  screen,  andirons,  etc.  The  chimney-cloth  was  of 
fringed  calico,  and  one  large  and  three  small  landscapes 
were  on  the  walls. 

The  wives  of  the  wealthier  citizens  had  their  own 
apartments  to  which  they  could  retire  for  rest  or  privacy. 
Some  of  these  were  quite  luxuriously  furnished.  William 
Cox  was  a  rich  merchant,  who  died  in  1689.  His 
widow's  chamber  contained  a  chest  of  drawers  on  a  frame, 
a  side  table  with  drawers,  a  chest  of  drawers  and  a  dress- 
ing-box, a  glass  case,  twelve  Turkey  chairs,  a  large  look- 
ing-glass, a  silver  ditto,  and  a  bed  with  serge  curtains  and 
valance  with  silk  fringe. 

By  this  time,  many  a  Vanderdecken  had  weathered  the 
Cape,  and  the  beautiful  fabrics  and  strange  productions  of 

154 


u^ 

•* 

a. 

r4 

0. 

Si 

X 

u 

(f) 

V 

«• 

^ 

< 

, 

Q 

St 

Z 

s 

< 

00 

^i^ 

U 

>; 

y. 

■XI 

u 

e 

a 

<3 

b- 

a 

<d 

C/1 

w 

a: 

•Si, 

^, 

a: 

■^ 

< 

a 

H.5 


8 


06  .5 
<  < 


■•**/ 


OLD  CRADLE,  CHILD'S   ROCKING-CHAIR  AND  TWO  FIRE-SCREENS 

In  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and  Art  Society.     See  page  252. 


VAN  RENSSELAER  CRADLE  AND  CHILD'S  CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mrs.  Gould.     See  page  252. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

the  affluent  East  had  found  their  way  into  every  trade  cen- 
tre. Oriental  goods  give  a  characteristic  note  to  the  rooms 
of  every  prosperous  Dutchman  of  the  day.  Porcelains, 
lacquer  goods,  silk  and  cotton  fabrics,  carved  wood  and 
ivory,  and  wrought  metals  were  brought  here  almost  as 
freely  as  they  are  to-day.  There  is  scarcely  an  inventory  of 
a  person  of  ample  means  after  1675  that  does  not  contain 
some  article  of  Eastern   origin. 

New  York  was  an  exceedingly  busy  mart,  and  English 
and  Dutch  and  other  vessels  unloaded  at  her  wharves 
merchandise  as  varied  as  was  to  be  had  in  London  or  Am- 
sterdam. Thriving  as  this  trade  emporium  now  was,  legi- 
timate commerce  did  not  satisfy  many  of  the  merchants, 
who,  as  is  well  known,  were  none  too  scrupulous;  they 
had  no  hesitation  in  breaking  the  laws  of  trade  whenever 
possible,  and  pirates  received  much  sympathy  and  aid. 
Ships  were  even  sent  with  supplies  to  the  pirates'  haunts 
and  returned  with  miscellaneous  plunder  and  successful 
pirates,  who  had  come  home  to  retire  in  comfort  on  the 
fruits  of  their  industry.  The  Earl  of  Bellomont  was  sent 
out  as  Governor  in  1697  to  stop  the  illegal  traffic.  He  and 
others  had  entered  into  a  commercial  venture  with  a  citi- 
zen and  ex-privateer  of  New  York,  named  Captain  William 
Kidd,  with  the  object  of  exterminating  piracy.  Every- 
body knows  the  outcome  of  this  scheme.  In  1692,  Ca{>- 
tain  Kidd  was  a  respectable  member  of  society  and  mar- 
ried Sarah,  the  widow  of  John  Ort  who  had  been  dead 
only  a  few  months.  It  may  be  interesting  to  see  the 
household  goods  that  the  future  pirate  acquired  by  this 
marriage. 

There  were  five  tables,  one  of  which  was  oval,  with  six 
carpets;  eighteen  Turkey-work,  twenty-foursingle-nailcd  and 

»5S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

twelve  double-nailed  leather  chairs ;  three  chests  of  drawers, 
a  glass  case,  two  stands,  two  dressing-boxes,  a  desk,  a  screen, 
four  looking-glasses,  a  clock,  four  curtained  beds,  two  pairs 
of  andirons,  two  fenders,  three  sets  of  fire-irons,  three  chaf- 
ing-dishes, four  brass,  four  tin  and  four  pewter  candle- 
sticks, five  leather  buckets,  104  ounces  of  silver  plate, 
twelve  drinking-glasses,  and  the  usual  bedding,  linen,  pew- 
ter and  kitchen  stuff.  With  the  addition  of  his  own  ef- 
fects, therefore.  Captain  Kidd's  home  was  quite  luxurious. 

The  contents  of  the  houses  constantly  bear  evidence  of 
the  extent  of  New  York's  foreign  trade  and  imply  that 
little  of  the  good  furniture  was  made  here.  The  new 
styles  that  the  Dutch  had  borrowed  from  the  East  were 
rapidly  growing  in  favour.  Marquetry,  already  spoken  of 
on  page  68,  beautiful  examples  of  which  appear  facing 
page  262  and  page  296,  owned  by  Mrs.  William  Gor- 
ham  Rice,  of  Albany,  and  Mr.  John  V.  L.  Pruyn,  of 
New  York,  was  becoming  a  leading  feature  of  furniture 
decoration,  and  objects  of  strange  shapes  with  inlay  of 
exotic  woods  were  gradually  eclipsing  the  old  cabinets, 
chests  of  drawers,  cupboards  and  tables  with  mouldings  and 
mathematical  patterns  of  ebony  and  imitation  ebony.  The 
more  picturesque  and  pictorial  marquetry  and  the  bombe 
forms  and  cabriole  legs  had  practically  superseded  the 
severe  oak  by  1690.  William  of  Orange  was  now  in 
England,  and  the  new  Dutch  furniture  was  all  the  rage. 
Walnut  was  principally  used,  but  chestnut  was  also  in  de- 
mand, and  much  hickory  reached  Holland  from  this  side. 
The  Dutch  recognized  the  value  of  mahogany  in  cabinet- 
making  earlier  than  is  usually  thought. 

Stray  pieces  of  mahogany  unquestionably  existed  in 
New  York  and  perhaps  in  New  England  and  the  South  at 

256 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

this  date.  It  is  probable  that  the  "  fine  red  chest  of  draw- 
ers," belonging  to  Thomas  Tyler,  of  Boston  (1691),  was 
composed  of  mahogany.  The  '*  red  table  that  folds  up," 
already  mentioned  in  the  inventory  of  Cornelis  Van  Dyke 
(1686),  looks  suspiciously   like  mahogany,  and  there  is  no 


MAHOGANY    TABLE 

In  the  Van  Cortlandt  Houtr,  Croton-un-the-Hudton. 


telling  how  long  he  had  possessed  it.  The  same  remark 
applies  to  the  "cupboard  of  Cashoes  tree,  j^i-io-o,"  be- 
longing to  James  Laty,  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  six  years  later. 
Cashoes  is,  of  course,  mahogany  (Dutch,  kasjoe ;  Brazilian, 
acajoba ;  French,  acajou).  An  early  specimen  of  mahog- 
any represented  on  this  page  belongs  to  Miss  Anne  Van 
Cortlandt    at    Croton-on-the-Hudson ;   it    is    said   to   have 


»S7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

been  brought  from  Holland  by  Olaf  Stevenson  Van  Cort- 
landt  in  1668  on  his  return  from  a  visit  to  his  fatherland. 
This,  as  well  as  the  next  example,  closely  follows  the  pattern 
of  the  seventeenth  century  oak  tables  (see  pages  1 1  and  97). 
In  transitional  periods,  styles  overlap  and  the  old  forms  are 
often  clung  to  after  the  new  have  been  introduced.  It  is 
quite  possible,  however,  that  the  mahogany  table  belong- 
ing to  Miss  Van  Cortlandt  is,  in  fact,  an  early  mahogany 
example  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  second  table, 
facing  page  260,  belonged  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  is 
loaned  to  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and  Art 
Society  by  the  heirs  of  the  late  Gen.  John  Taylor  Cooper. 
The  wood  is  very  rich  red,  the  leaves  drop  on  hinges  at 
each  end,  and  are  supported  by  legs  that  fold.  Its  height 
is  29^8  inches;  its  length  6  feet  6  inches  and  5  feet  11 
inches  across  the  shortest  diameter.  This  piece  of  furni- 
ture was  confiscated  in  1776,  and  was  purchased  by  the 
Hon.  John  Taylor. 

It  is  not,  however,  the  new  Dutch  furniture  designed 
under  the  influence  of  the  Orient  that  is  noticeable  in  New 
York  houses,  so  much  as  the  actual  products  in  wood  and 
lacquer  of  those  remote  realms.  Many  a  house  contained 
cabinets,  baskets,  trays,  images  and  ceramics  of  all  kinds 
that  had  come  direct  from  the  Far  East.  Among  others 
we  may   select   the  following: 

Christina  Cappoens  ( 1687)  had  an  "  Eestindia  Cabbenet 
with  four  black  ebben  feet,^2-io-o."  Margarita  Van  Varick 
(1696),  had  "five  silver  wrought  East  India  boxes,  three 
ditto  cups,  two  ditto  dishes,  one  ditto  trunk,  a  Moorivsh  to- 
bacco pipe,  a  small  ebony  trunk  with  silver  handles,  an 
East  India  cabinet  with  ebony  feet  wrought,  two  East  In- 
dia cabinets  with  brass  handles,  a  small  black  cabinet  with 

258 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

silver  handles,  eleven  Indian  babyes,  ten  Indian  looking- 
glasses,  two  East  India  cane  baskets  with  covers,  a  fine  East 
India  dressing-basket,  a  round  ditto,  two  East  India  cane 
baskets  with  covers,  two  wooden  guilt  East  India  trays 
lackered,  one  round  thing  ditto,  thirteen  East  India  pic- 
tures, a  fine  East  India  square  guilt  basket  and  a  carved 
wooden  thing,"  and  quantities  of  porcelain. 

Perhaps  also  **  thirteen  ebony  chairs,  a  small  gold  box 
as  big  as  a  pea,  a  gold  piece  the  shape  of  a  diamond,  a 
gold  bell  and  chain,  two  gold  medals,  a  small  mother-of- 
pearl  box  and  fifty-five  pieces  silver  playthings  or  toys" 
may  have  come  from  the  East.  Mr.  Jacob  De  Lange 
(1685)  also  owned  "one  waxed  East  India  small  trunk, 
one  square  black  small  sealing-waxed  box,  one  silver 
thread-wrought  small  trunk,  one  ivory  small  trunk  tipt 
with  silver,  two  small  square  cabinets  with  brass  hoops, 
one  East  India  basket,  one  East  India  cubbet,  five  small 
East  India  boxes,  one  East  India  waxed  cabinet  with  brass 
bands  and  hinges  with  four  partitions,  one  small  East  In- 
dia rush  case  containing  nineteen  wine  and  beer  glasses, 
one  small  waxed  East  India  trunk,  one  ivory  small  trunk 
tipped  with  silver,  one  square  black  small  sealing-waxed 
box,  one  silver  thread-wrought  small  trunk,  a  gold  boat 
wherein  thirteen  diamants  to  one  white  coral  chain  and 
one  East  India  basket." 

If,  in  addition  to  Oriental  products,  we  examine  the 
porcelain,  earthenware  and  pictures  belonging  to  Mrs. 
Van  Varick  and  to  Mr.  I)e  Lange,  a  rich  barber-surgeon, 
respectively,  we  shall  have  a  very  clear  view  of  the  best 
that  was  procurable  at  the  close  of  the  third  quarter  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  **  Chvrurgian's"  inventory 
( 1685,  ;t 740- 1 7-7),  includes:   "  Purcelaine.     In  the  cham- 

»$9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ber  before  the  chimney.  Seven  half  basons  (^12-15-0), 
two  belly  flagons,  three  white  men,  one  sugar  pot,  two 
small  pots,  six  small  porrengers,  one  small  goblet "  (all 
^^2-14-0).  Thus  we  see  how  a  chimney-piece  was  deco- 
rated. The  six  plates  were  naturally  stood  on  end.  Upon  the 
case,  or  kas^  were  two  great  basons,  one  great  goblet,  two 
pots,  two  flasks  and  four  drinking  glasses; — total  ^'4-16-0. 
Other  porcelain,  some  of  which  was  evidently  for  sale,  in- 
cluded: "Five  drillings,  thirty  butter  dishes,  six  double 
ditto,  seven  small  tea  pots,  two  white  ditto,  one  can  with  a 
silver  joint,  one  ditto  with  a  joint,  five  small  basons,  one 
barber's  ditto,  sixty-seven  saucers,  four  salt  sellers,  three 
small  mustard  pots,  five  oil  pots,  one  small  pot,  1 27  tea 
pots,  three  small  men,  two  fruit  dishes."  The  total  value 
of  this  chinaware  was  ^'15-11-6  The  earthenware 
comprised  "two  small  cups,  one  bason,  one  small  oil  can, 
one  small  spice  pot,  five  saucers,  six  small  men,  one  small 
dog,  two  small  swans,  one  small  duck."  These  were  all 
worth  only  ten  shillings.  In  addition,  there  were  **  ten 
white  dishes,  seven  white  and  blue  ditto,  two  flat  white 
basons,  one  white  cup,  one  salt  seller,  one  mustard  pot, 
twenty-one  trenchers,  one  chamber  pot,  one  pan  with  pew- 
ter cover.  Red  earthenware :  Five  small  saucepans,  three 
stew  pans,  four  pots,  one  strainer,  two  small  dishes,  two 
jars."  Mrs.  Van  Varick's  porcelain  was  as  follows: 
"  Three  cheenie  pots,  one  ditto  cup  bound  with  silver,  two 
glassen  cases  with  thirty-nine  pieces  of  small  chinaware  and 
eleven  Indian  babyes,  also  six  small  and  six  larger  china 
dishes,  twenty-three  pieces  of  chinaware,  two  white  china 
cups  with  covers,  one  parcel  toys  (^'2-10-0),  three  tea 
pots,  one  cistern  and  basin,  fourteen  china  dishes,  three 
large  ditto,  three  ditto  basons,  three  smaller  ditto^  three  fine 

260 


*5 


^    5 


- 

^H 

^H^v             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

r 

1 

f 

wjME 

PP 

■nli 

■   J 

if- 

i 

t 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 

.  «dr 

MM 

WHI 

^r  ;           ^ ' 

1^ 

:.^^~1- 

■ 

«jt 

•■%*B%^ 

\  £.^~~^^~ 

.             ^^*«^(    • 

»i* 

■^^'i 

^        ^^^^^__. 

► 

MARQUETRY   CUPBOARD  AND  DRAWERS 

Owned  by  Mrs.  IVilliam  Gorham  Rice^  Albany.      See  page  2^6. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

china  cups,  one  ditto  jug,  four  ditto  saucers,  seven  ditto 
smaller  tea  dishes,  six  painted  tea  ditto,  four  tea  ditto, 
eight  tea  cups,  four  ditto  painted  brown,  six  small  ditto, 
three  ditto  painted  red  and  blue,  three  white  East  India 
Hower  pots,  three  ditto  smaller,  three  ditto  round,  one 
china  ink  box,  one  lion,  one  china  image."  Other  articles 
of  this  class  were :  Eight  white  earthen  plates,  one  tea  dish, 
two  cups,  six  wooden  tumblers,  one  carved  wooden  thing, 
and  three  wooden  dishes  painted.  Besides  her  Eastern 
cabinets,  already  described,  this  lady  had  other  pieces  of 
furniture  for  the  safe-keeping  and  display  of  her  precious 
china.  First,  perhaps,  comes  "  one  great  Dutch  kas^  which 
could  not  be  removed  from  Flatbush,"  and  was  therefore 
sold  for  ;f  25.  This  must  have  been  a  very  fine  piece  of 
carved  and  inlaid  work.  Then  we  have  a  "  painted 
wooden  rack  to  set  chinaware  in."  The  value,  £\-j-o^ 
shows  that  either  the  painting  or  carving  was  elaborate.  A 
wooden  tray,  a  wooden  tray  with  feet,  and  a  small  oval 
painted  table  also  occur. 

One  of  the  most  varied  assortments  of  household  goods 
belonged  to  the  above  Jacob  De  Lange.  His  house  con- 
tained a  fore  room,  side  chamber,  chamber,  shop,  kitchen  and 
cellar.  Besides  the  Oriental  goods  already  mentioned,  he 
owned  twelve  chairs  of  red  and  six  of  green  plush,  and 
eleven  matted.  Then  there  were  seven  wooden  backs,  two 
can  boards,  two  small  cloak  boards,  a  hat  press,  a  church 
chair,  a  clothes  press,  a  small  square  cabinet  with  brass 
hoops,  a  cupboard  with  glass  front,  **  a  black  nut  chest, 
found  under  them  two  black  feet,"  one  oak  drawing  and 
two  round  tables.  His  pictures  numbered  fifty-five.  In 
the  side  chamber  were  "  a  small  zea,  an  evening,  four  pic- 
tures countreys  and  five  East  India  pictures  with  red  lists" 

161 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

(list=frame).  The  fore-room  was  adorned  with  "a  great 
picture  being  a  banquet  with  a  black  list,  one  ditto  some- 
thing smaller,  one  ditto  one  bunch  of  grapes  with  a  pome- 
granate, one  ditto  with  apricocks,  one  ditto  a  small  coun- 
try, one  ditto  a  Break  of  Day,  one  ditto  a  Small  Winter, 
one  small  ditto  a  Cobler,  a  Portraturing  of  My  Lord 
Speelman,  a  board  with  a  black  list  wherein  the  coat-of- 
arms  of  Mr.  De  Lange."  These  landscapes,  marines,  in- 
teriors and  still  life  of  the  Dutch  vschool  would  be  prized 
in  any  house  to-day.  It  is  interesting,  however,  to  note 
that  the  owner's  coat-of-arms  was  valued  at  j^'5-4-0,  while 
all  the  other  pictures  in  the  room  totalled  only  ^^8.  The 
Chamber  contained  "one  great  picture  banquetts,  one  ditto, 
one  small  ditto,  one  ditto  Abraham  and  Hagar,  four  small 
countreys,  two  small  ditto,  one  flower  pot,  one  small  ditto, 
one  country  people  frolic,  one  portraiture,  one  sea  strand, 
one  plucked  cock  torn,  two  small  countreys,  one  small  print 
broken,  one  flower  pot  small  without  a  list,  thirteen  East 
India  prints  past  upon  paper."  These  pictures,  many  of 
which  were,  doubtless,  by  celebrated  masters,  reached  the 
grand  total  of  ^19-7-6  ! 

Pictures  are  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  all  opu- 
lent houses.  Thirty-eight  were  owned  by  Cornelis  Steen- 
wyck,  but  the  subjects  are  not  recorded.  Christina  Cap- 
pons,  1687,  owned  **  two  rosen  picters,  one  ditto  a  ship, 
one  ditto  of  ye  city  of  Amsterdam,  two  ditto  small  upon 
boards,  ten  small  picters,  one  great  ditto  with  a  broken  list, 
three  small  gilded  ditto."  These  were  collectively  worth 
/2-0-6. 

Besides  two  pictures  not  described,  John  Van  Zee, 
1689,  had  one  of  Julius  Caesar  and  another  of  Scipio  Afri- 
canus.      '*  Landskips  "  are  plentiful.      Margarita  Van  Var- 

262 


THE  FURNITURK  OK  OUR  FORKFATHERS 

ick,  1696,  owned  thirty-nine  pictures,  including  portraits 
of  herself  and  relations,  "  three  pictures  of  ships  with  black 
ebony  frame,  one  ditto  of  the  Apostle,  one  ditto  of  fruit, 
one  ditto  of  a  battle,  one  ditto  landskip,  one  ditto  large 
flower  pot,  one  ditto  with  a  rummer,  one  ditto  bird  cage 
and  purse,  etc.,  one  large  horse  battle,  one  large  picture 
with  roots."  The  others  included  prints  and  pictures  with 
ebony,  black  and  gilt  frames.  In  some  houses  the  chim- 
ney-piece was  not  very  high,  especially  towards  the  end  of 
the  century.  In  this  case  the  space  above  it  was  rilled  with 
a  large  picture  which  was  specially  named.  Thus,  Mrs. 
Van  Varick  possessed  "  a  large  picture  of  images,  sheep, 
and  ships  that  hung  above  the  chimney."  The  walls  of 
the  rooms  of  the  bevSt  houses  were  thus  amply  decorated ; 
and  with  the  gay  hangings,  table  and  chimney-cloths,  and 
cushions,  the  efl^ect  was  exceedingly  bright  and  rich.  It  may 
be  noted  that  wherever  there  was  a  board  or  shelf  it  received 
some  covering.  The  chests  of  drawers  and  dressing-tables 
were  often  covered  with  a  cloth  called  a  toilet  or  twilight 
towards  the  end  of  the  century.  Cornelis  Jacobs  (1700) 
has  •*  one  white  cloth  for  chist  drawers  muslin."  Mrs. 
Van  V^arick's  chimney-cloths  and  curtains,  which  matched, 
were  green  serge  with  silk  fringe  and  flowered  crimson 
gauze.  She  also  had  a  painted  chimney-cloth,  six  satin 
cushions  with  gold  flowers,  white  flowered  muslin  curtains, 
two  fine  Turkey-work  carpets,  chintz  flowered  and  blue 
flowered  carpets,  and  a  flowered  carpet  stitched  with  gold, 
besides  many  other  cloths  and  hangings.  The  "cup- 
boards" and  "cases"  in  which  the  china  was  kept,  espe- 
cially those  with  glass  fronts,  also  had  cloths  on  the  shelves. 
"  Six  cloths  which  they  put  upon  the  boards  in  the  case  " 
is  an  entry  in  the  inventory  of  Jacob  De  Lange. 

163 


THE  FURNITURE  OP  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  cupboards  and  cases  in  which  china  was  kept  may 
have  been  similar  to  those  represented  facing  this  page  and 
page  272,  both  of  which  belong  to  Mr.  George  Douglas 
Miller  of  Albany,  and  are  in  the  rooms  of  the  Albany  In- 
stitute and  Historical  and  Art  Society. 

The  kas^  or  kos^  was  the  most  important  article  of  fur- 
niture in  the  ordinary  Dutch  house.  It  is  almost  invari- 
ably found,  often  attaining  enormous  dimensions  and 
seeming  almost  to  form  part  of  the  house  itself.  Before 
the  rage  for  antique  furniture  arose  not  many  years  ago, 
superb  presses  of  this  class  might  still  be  found  in  very 
modest  Dutch  dwellings.  They  were,  and  where  they 
exist,  still  are,  looked  after  with  special  care,  and  lovingly 
rubbed,  oiled  and  varnished.  They  often  had  tall  and 
massive  columns  with  broadly-carved  capitals,  and  carving 
abounded  along  their  edges  and  mouldings.  Beautiful 
tones,  enriched  by  the  centuries,  mingled  in  the  contrasted 
oak,  walnut,  and  blackened  pear  woods.  They  had  a  most 
impressive  air  that  seemed  disdainful  of  the  rest  of  the 
furniture.  In  a  chamber  adorned  with  Oriental  produc- 
tions, their  severity  produced  a  most  striking  effect.  The 
dealers  in  antiques  have  stripped  most  of  the  small  houses 
of  these  great  wardrobe  presses,  but  a  few  specimens  that 
excite  the  admiration  of  tourists  and  travellers  are  still  to 
be  seen  in  Gueldres  and  North  Holland.  They  seem  to 
have  been  universal  in  the  New  Netherlands,  and  the  inven- 
tories show  that  they  lingered  here  long  after  the  rest  of 
the  furniture  of  their  day  had  departed, — more  on  account 
of  their  usefulness  even  than  their  beauty,  in  all  probability. 
That  they  were  highly  prized  is  plain  from  the  fact  of  their 
frequent  appearance  in  wills  as  special  bequests.  Two  in- 
stances   will  suffice:   Judith,   widow    of  Peter   Stuyvesant, 

264 


GLASS   CASE   ON    FRAME   (MARQUETRY) 

Chvjud  by  Mr.  George  Douglas  Milter^  Albany.     See  page  j66> 


WALNUT    KAS 

Owned  by  Mijj  Catharine  Van  Cortlandt  Matthews,  Croton-on-tbe'Hudion,  N.  T.     See  page  266, 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bequeaths  to  her  son  Nicholaes  among  other  things:  **  My 
great  case  or  cubbard  standing  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Johannes  Van  Brugh,  together  with  all  the  china  earthen- 
ware locked  up  in  said  cubbard."  Again,  in  1687,  Mary 
Mathewes  leaves  to  her  granddaughter,  Hester  Erwin  :  a 
bed  and  furniture,  two  silk  coats  and  **  one  certain  great 
black  walnut  cupboard  standing  in  my  new  dwelling- 
house."  Margarita  Van  Varick's  kas  that  was  too  massive  to 
be  moved  has  already  been  noted.  (See  page  261.)  Mr.  De 
Lange's  great  kas  is  thus  described:  "One  great  cloth [esl 
case  covered  with  French  nutwood  and  two  black 
knots  under  it,  ^^  13-0-0."  Other  examples  are:  A  great 
press  (J no.  Sharpe,  1681)  ;  a  cupboard  or  case  of  drawers, 
^9,  and  a  cupboard  or  case  of  French  nutwood,  j^20 
(Cornelis  Steenwyck)  ;  a  small  oak  case,  j^*i-io-o 
(Glaunde  Germonpre  van  Gitts,  1687);  a  white  oak  cup- 
board, jf 2-5-0  (Jacob  Sanford,  1688);  a  large  cupboard, 
£6  (Widow  Burdene,  1690)  ;  a  "cupboard  for  clowes,"  a 
press  and  porcelain,  ^^5,  "a  Holland  cubbart  furnished  with 
earthenware  and  porcelain,  ;^I5"  (F.  Rombouts,  1692);  a 
great  black  walnut  cupboard,  ;^io,  and  a  Dutch  painted 
cupboard,  £\  (Abram  Delanoy,  1702);  a  black  walnut 
cupboard,  £()  (Jeremias  Westerhout,  1703);  a  "case  of 
nutwood,"  £\o  (J no.  Abeel,  171 2). 

The  high  prices  of  many  of  the  above  show  that  they 
must  have  been  of  fine  workmanship.  Sometimes  they 
stood  on  square  feet  and  sometimes  on  the  favourite 
Dutch  ball,  or  "  knot,"  as  the  appraiser  describes  it. 
Humphrey  Hall  (1696)  owned  "a  chest  of  drawers  with 
balls  at  the  feet,  ^'1-16-0;  ditto  one  loss,  ^^'i-i 0-0."  This 
ball  that  is  such  a  conspicuous  feature  in  seventeenth-cen- 
tury furniture  was  sometimes  flattened.      We  have  seen    it 

»6s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


in  the  bedposts,  under 
chests  and  in  table  legs. 
The  ball-and-claw  foot 
that  succeeded  it  ap- 
peared before  the  close 
of  the  century  and  re- 
mained in  favour  almost 
a  century.  The  cases 
with  glass  or  solid  doors 
frequently  stood  on 
"stands"  or  "frames" 
with  four  or  six  legs  on 
which  the  bulb,  though 
reduced  in  size,  was  still 
conspicuous  (see  facing 
264).  Sometimes  the 
porcelain  cupboards, 
cases  or  cabinets  stood  on 
a  base  that  was  closed 
with    doors.       Mr.    De 

Owned  by  Mrs.  H.  Van  Rensselaer  Gould  at  C^^rry  ///'//,    LaUge      OWned     2.     **CUp- 
Albany.      Sec  this  page.  ®  ^ 

board  with  a  glass,"  j[i- 
5-0.  A  good  example  of  the  latter  variety  appears  facing 
page  272.  The  kas  on  this  page  is  a  Van  Rensselaer 
piece  and  belongs  to  Mrs.  H.  Van  Rensselaer  Gould, 
of  East  Orange,  N.  J.,  but  it  is  preserved  at  Cherry  Hill, 
Albany.  It  is  mahogany  with  ball-and-claw  feet.  The 
four  drawers  are  furnished  with  brass  handles.  In  the  cup- 
board above,  the  shelves  run  the  whole  length.  On  either 
side  of  the  doors  are  fluted  columns. 

The  kas  facing  this  page  also  stands  on  ball-and-claw 
feet,  but  is  made  of  walnut.     A  kind  of  Chinese  pattern 

s66 


MAHOGANY    KAS 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

runs  along  the  top.  The  drawers  have  brass  handles.  This 
piece  was  partly  burned  by  the  Hessians  during  the  Revo- 
lution. It  is  owned  by  Miss  Catharine  Van  Cortlandt 
Matthews,  at  Croton-on-the-Hudson,   N.  Y. 

An  example  of  the  great  kas^  belonging  to  Mrs.  John 
V.  L.  Pruyn,  faces  page  270.  It  is  of  marquetry  orna- 
mented with  plaques  of  blue  and  white  Delft. 

A  very  interesting  specimen  facing  page  235  is  a 
walnut  kas,  veneered  with  mahogany,  now  owned  by  Miss 
Katharine  Van  Rensselaer,  at  the  Vlie  House ^  Rensselaer, 
N.  Y.  It  is  more  than  seven  feet  high.  Two  large 
balls  form  the  front  feet;  the  doors  and  two  lower 
drawers  are  panelled.  The  carving  consists  of  flowers 
bound  together  with  cords  and  tassels  (one  of  the  latter  is 
missing).  Heads  of  cherubs  and  grotesque  animals  appear 
on  the  corners,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  top  moulding  and 
between  the  two  drawers.  This  originally  belonged  to  Kath- 
arine Van  Burgh  (daughter  of  Johannes  Van  Burgh  and 
Sara  Cuyler,  among  the  first  settlers  on  Manhattan  Island), 
given  to  her  on  her  marriage  to  Philip  Livingston  (grand- 
son of  Philip  Schuyler) ;  it  descended  to  the  present 
owner  through  the  marriage  of  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer, 
the  eighth  patroon  of  the  Manor  of  Rensselaerswyck,  with 
Katharine  Livingston,  granddaughter  of  Katharine  V^an 
Burgh. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  greater  part  of  the  good  furni- 
ture found  in  New  York  was  imported.  Among  the 
merchandise  brought  in  by  the  ship  Robert  uv  1687  was  a 
cane  chair.  In  the  same  year  the  Amity  of  London,  besides 
barrels,  kegs,  firkins,  casks  and  puncheons,  brought  1 3 
trunks,  i  2  chests,  6  boxes,  3  cases,  9  bundles,  4  parcels  of 
bedding,  3   kettles,  a  pot,  spit,  basket,  fire   tongs,   shovel, 

a67 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bellows,  desk  and  kas.  Another  lot  of  furniture  on  board 
consisted  of  2  tables,  2  bundles  of  chairs,  a  chest  of  draw- 
ers, bed,  trunk,  2  boxes,  spit  and  jack.  In  1686,  the 
Bachelour^  also  from  London,  had  dry  goods,  brandy,  claret 
and  Rhenish  wine,  a  saddle-horse  with  furniture,  lanterns, 
Hat-foot  candlesticks,  funnels,  saucepans,  kettles,  porringers, 
spoons,  basins,  chest  of  drawers,  table  and  frame,  suits  oj 
curtains  and  valance,  close-stool  and  looking-glass.  Therv. 
were,  however,  some  workmen  here  who  were  capable  of 
making  good  furniture,  and  all  the  necessary  fine  timber 
was  on  the  spot.  The  Labadists,  who  visited  New  York  in 
1689,  remark  on  the  thick  woods  with  which  the  shores 
of  the  bay  were  covered.  Timber  was  exported  in  large 
quantities,  and  was  wastefuUy  used  for  fuel.  The  Labad- 
ists note  :  "  We  found  a  good  fire,  halfway  up  the  chimney, 
of  clear  oak  and  hickory,  of  which  they  made  not  the 
least  scruple  of  burning  profusely."  In  1710,  "  i^/^  cords 
Nutten  wood  for  the  fire,  ^0-15-0,"  belonged  to  Isaac 
Pinchiero.  Nutwood,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  hick- 
ory. Boards  that  may  have  been  used  in  the  construction 
of  furniture  are  frequently  found  in  the  inventories.  C. 
Steenwyck  (1686)  has  14  French  nut  boards,  ;^3-3-o  ;  C. 
Cappoens  (1687),  2  black  walnut  boards,  ^0-9-0;  F. 
Richardson  (1688),  some  walnut  boards,  ^'o-io-o;  and  T. 
Davids  (1688),  260  oak  and  chestnut  planks.  It  is  rea- 
sonable to  assume  that  the  cheap  pine  tables,  forms,  and 
chests  were  made  here  ;  probably,  also,  most  of  the  maple 
and  hickory  furniture  came  from  local  workshops.  Cedar 
wc  know  was  largely  used.  In  1703,  Matthew  Clarkson 
owned  "one  fine  chest  of  drawers  and  other  things  fitting 
of  maple  wood  ;  "  and  in  1707  Morton  Peterson  had  "  one 
cupbard    of  cedar  home  made,  £1.''      The  examples  al- 

268 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ready  given  show  that  the  cupboards  and   kasses  were  usu- 
ally made  of  white  oak  or  black  walnut. 

Expensive  marquetry,  as  well  as  Oriental  goods,  was 
occasionally  imported.  In  1705,  Colonel  William  Smith, 
of  St.  George's,  owned  a  fine  chest  of  drawers  of  walnut 
and  olive  wood  worth  as  much  as  ^^15.  The  latter  wood 
was  common  in  looking-glass  frames,  and  other  articles 
were  sometimes  composed  of  it.  In  1692,  Lawrence  Del- 
dyke  owned  an  olive  wood  cabinet. 

The  inventories  quoted  above  would  prove  th?t  the 
Dutch  in  the  New  Netherlands  were  possessed  of  wealth. 
We  have  contemporary  testimony  from  the  Rev.  John 
Miller,  who,  in  describing  New  York  in  1695,  writes: 
"  The  number  of  inhabitants  in  this  province  are  about 
3,000  families,  whereof  almost  one-half  are  naturally  Dutch, 
a  great  part  English  and  the  rest  French.  ...  As  to  their 
religion,  they  are  very  much  divided  ;  few  of  them  intel- 
ligent and  sincere,  but  the  most  part  ignorant  and  con- 
ceited, fickle  and  regardless.  As  to  their  wealth  and  dis- 
position thereto,  the  Dutch  are  rich  and  sparing;  the 
English  neither  very  rich,  nor  too  great  husbands;  the 
French  are  poor,  and  therefore  forced  to  be  penurious.  As 
to  their  way  of  trade  and  dealing,  they  are  all  generally 
cunning  and  crafty,  but  many  of  them  not  so  just  to  their 
words  as  they  should  be." 

Before  closing  the  Dutch  period,  one  feature  of  the  large 
iiouse  must  be  mentioned, — the  Doten-Kammer^  a  room  al- 
ways kept  shut  up  until  a  season  of  mourning  and  funerals. 
It  was  generally  furnished  as  a  bedroom;  the  high-post  bed- 
stead was  hung  with  white  curtains,  and  the  chest  of  draw- 
ers contained  burial  clothing.  One  of  the  longest  preserved 
of  these  rooms  was  that  of  Whitehall^  the  Ganscvoort  home. 

269 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  New  York 
was  already  an  important  place.  Wealth  and  some  degree 
of  fashion  were  to  be  found  there.  The  distinguished 
Earl  of  Bellomont  and  his  successor,  the  wild  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  were  accustomed  to  the  best  that  money  could  pro- 
cure at  that  day.  The  extracts  from  the  inventories 
show  that  New  York  compared  very  favourably  with 
Amsterdam  and  London.    A  visitor,  describing  the  town  in 


OLD    CHEST    WITH    DRAWER    AND    DROP    HANDLES 
Owned  by  Miss  Anna  Lansing,  Albany.      See  page  271. 

1 70 1,  says  that  it  is  built  of  brick  and  stone  and  covered 
with  red  and  black  tile,  producing  a  very  pleasing  appear- 
ance from  a  distance.  He  adds:  "Though  their  low- 
roofed  houses  may  seem  to  shut  their  doors  against  pride 
and  luxury,  yet  how  do  they  stand  wide  open  to  let  charity 
in  and  out,  either  to  assist  each  other,  or  to  relieve  a  stran- 
ger." For  the  next  twenty  years,  we  do  not  notice  any 
great  changes  in  the  furniture.  The  old  Turkey-work, 
Russia  leather  and  cane  chairs  still  linger,  and  the  matted 
chairs  are  universal.  The  latter  are  usually  black.  Wal- 
nut is  the  favourite  wood,  and  mahogany   is  scarcely  ever 

170 


KAS  OF    MARQUETRY    WITH    PLAQUES  OF    BLUE   AND    WHITE 

DELFT 

Owntd  by  Mrs.  Jobm  V.  L.  Prujm,  Albany,      Set  page  267. 


CHINA    CUPBOARD    (MARQUETRY) 

Chvned  by  Mr.  George  Douglas  Miller,  Albany.      See  page  266. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


UoUUiiL  CmJLa 


THREE    CHAIRS 


Ownrd  by  Mist  Anna    Lanang,  Albany.       The  central  chair  of  carved  oalc  is  from  the  Cocymant 
family  ^  the  othen  belonged  to  Abraham  Yates.      See  page  272. 

mentioned.  Olive  wood  is  by  no  means  scarce,  as  chests 
of  drawers  and  tables,  as  well  as  looking-glass  frames  (see 
facing  page  230),  are  made  of  it.  Black  walnut  and  Dutch 
painted  cupboards  hold  their  own.  Chests  are  plentiful, 
ball  feet  and  brass  handles  being  often  mentioned.  ChevSts, 
such  as  the  one  with  drawer  on  page  270,  long  in 
the  Lansing  family  and  now  owned  by  Miss  Anna  Lansing, 
of  Albany,  are  very  common.  A  wealthy  home  of  this 
time  contains  a  great  variety  of  chairs,  old  and  new ;  the 
old  drawing-table  almost  entirely  disappears  ;  the  tea-table 
multiplies  ;  the  cupboard  is  gradually  relinquished  as  the 
**  beaurtt,"  or  china  shelves  and  cupboard,  takes  its  place  ; 
drcvssing-tables  and  chests  of  drawers,  with  looking-glasses, 
are  plentiful ;  Dutch  styles  prevail   and  stiffness  is  entirely 

»7« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CHAIRS 

Owned  by  Miss  Anna  Van  Vechten,  Albany,  N.  Y.     The  one  to  the  right  is  a  Schuyler  piece, 
the  next  a  Dutch  chair  owned  by  Teunis  Van  Vechten,  and  the  two  others  come  from  the  Lush  family. 


banished.  Fashionable  chairs  occur  on  page  271  and  here. 
Page  271  shows  two  chairs  originally  owned  by  Abraham 
Yates,  and  a  carved  chair  of  the  style  now  going  out  of 
fashion,  that  belonged  to  the  Coeymans  family  and  de- 
scended to  the  present  owner  through  the  Ten  Eycks. 
These  pieces  are  owned  by  Miss  Anna  Lansing,  of  Albany. 

On  this  page  appear  an  old  chair  painted  black,  orig- 
inally cane,  that  was  brought  from  Holland  by  Teunis  Van 
Vechten,  a  fashionable  chair  owned  by  the  Schuyler  family, 
and  two  chairs  to  the  left  that  belonged  to  the  Lush 
family,  the  one  to  the  extreme  left  being  of  a  still  later 
period.  These  four  specimens  are  owned  by  Miss  Anna 
Van   Vechten,  Albany. 

Captain  Giles  Shelley,  of  New  York,  died  in  171 8 
with  a  personalty  of  ^6812-16-7^  .  His  house  con- 
tained  a  medley  that  is  typical   of  this  transition  period. 


»7a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

There  were  seventy  chairs,  of  which  six  were  Turkey- 
work,  twenty-one  cane,  twenty-seven  matted,  twelve 
leather,  one  easy,  two  elbow,  and  one  red  plush  elbow. 
One  painted  and  three  other  large  and  small  oval  were 
among  the  fourteen  tables.  Of  three  clocks,  one  was  re- 
peating. Five  looking-glassses,  three  pairs  of  gilt  sconces, 
one  hanging  and  many  other  candlesticks  and  lamps,  lots 
of  silver  plate,  brass,  china  lions,  images,  porcelain  and 
glass  gave  light  and  brilliancy  to  the  rooms,  the  walls  of 
which  were  also  adorned  with  seventy-seven  pictures  and 
prints  in  black  and  gilt  frames.  Colour  was  added  by 
bright  curtains  and  arras  hangings.  The  position  of  one 
fine  picture  is  expressly  stated ;  it  is  a  "  landskip  chimney- 
piece."  Two  chests  of  drawers  and  another  with  a  look- 
ing-glass, a  dressing-box,  a  cane  couch,  a  cupboard,  five 
chests  and  seven  or  eight  bedsteads  constituted  the  re- 
mainder of  the  important  wooden  furniture.  The  princi- 
pal bed  curtains  were  of  red  china,  blue  shalloon,  calico, 
silk  muslin  and  white  muslin  inside,  and  striped  muslin 
lined  with  calico.  Among  the  miscellaneous  household 
goods,  of  which  there  was  a  great  quantity,  the  following 
are  noticeable:  a  brass  hearth  with  hooks  for  shovels  and 
tongs,  four  hand  fire-screens,  a  pair  of  tables  and  men,  a 
pair  of  tables,  box-dice  and  men,  two  brass  ring-stands,  a 
plate-stand,  two  silver  chafing-dishes,  a  wind-up  Jack  with 
pullies  and  weights,  two  tea-trays,  a  red  tea-pot,  a  cruet,  a 
work-basket,  a  flowered  muslin  toilet,  a  red  and  gold  satin 
carj>et. 

George  Duncan,  also  of  New  York,  whose  goods  were* 
valued  at  ;^4099-8-5^  in  1724,  shows  a  still  further  ad- 
vance from  the  old  styles,  though  no  mahogany  is  speci- 
fically mentioned.      The  chairs  were  "old,"  black,  matted 

«73 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  cane.  The  most  noticeable  pieces  of  furniture  of  value 
are  an  olive  wood  chest  of  drawers ;  an  inlaid  scriptore, 
j[6-^-o  ;  a  cedar  ditto,  j[2  ;  a  bedstead  with  dimity  cur- 
tains lined  with  white  damask,  ^^  10-5-0  ;  a  large  looking- 
glass,  ;^  4-5-0  ;  a  clock  and  case,  ^£^10;  and  a  plate  case 
with  glass  doors,  ;^3-5-o. 

To  picture  a  wealthy  home  in  New  York  during  the 
reign  of  George  I.  we  cannot  do  better  than  enumerate 
the  possessions  of  William  Burnet,  Governor  of  New  York 
and  Massachusetts,  who  died  in  1729,  with  a  personalty  of 
^'4540-4-33/^  .  His  house  contained  twelve  tables  and 
seventy  chairs.  Some  of  the  furniture  was  undoubtedly  of 
mahogany,  though  the  only  wood  mentioned  is  walnut. 
The  chairs  were  walnut  frames,  red  leather,  bass  bottomed, 
black  bass,  and  "  embowed  or  hollow  back  with  fine  bass 
bottoms."  One  easy-chair  covered  with  silk  was  valued 
at  ;^io.  The  style  of  chair  known  as  "Chippendale," 
with  traceried  splat  and  bow-shaped  back,  was  thus  found 
here  in  the  "  twenties."  Twenty-four  of  those  belonging 
to  the  Governor  had  seats  of  red  leather,  and  nine  of  fine 
bass,  valued  at  twenty-four  and  twenty  shillings  each  re- 
spectively. The  tables  were  large  and  small  oval,  black 
walnut,  small  square  and  round,  plain  and  japanned  tea 
tables,  card  and  backgammon  tables.  There  were  two 
valuable  eight-day  clocks,  a  fine  gilt  cabinet  and  frame, 
a  writing-desk  and  stand,  a  chest  of  drawers  and  small 
dressing-glass,  a  **  scrutore  with  glass  doors  "  valued  at  ;^20, 
three  chests  and  seven  trunks.  Besides  six  dozen  silver 
knives  and  forks  worth  j[y2,  there  were  i  172  oz.  of  silver 
plate;  china  and  glass  (^^i  30-16-0) ;  pewter  (^f  100-2-6); 
kitchen  stuff  (^^140-1  5-0);  and  a  variety  of  expensive  beds 
with  red  and  chintz  curtains.      One  bedstead  was  of  iron ; 

a74 


§mk 


Mi. 


If  III  ■■ift^l 


PQ 

o  - 

DC  'S 

<   "" 

^  '^ 
s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  one  "  mattress  Russia  leather,"  one  of  "  Ozenbriggs," 
and  two  of  coarse  Holland  are  mentioned.  Some  form  of 
carpet  now  covered  the  floor  of  the  best  houses,  and  tapestry 
still  adorned  the  rooms.  The  Governor  owned  **  a  line 
piece  of  needlework  representing  a  rustick,  £^zo ;  4 
pieces  fine  tapestry,  £10  \  a  large  painted  canvas  square  as 
the  room,  £%  ;  2  old  checquered  canvases  to  lay  under 
a  table,  ^^'o- 1 0-0 ;  2  four-leaf  screens  covered  with  gilt 
leather,  j^' I  5  ;  i  fire  screen  of  tapestry  work,  jfi-i 0-0  ; 
2  ditto  paper  screens,  ;^i."  Besides  window  curtains, 
cushions  for  windows  occur.  The  hall  was  lighted  by  a 
large  lantern  with  three  lights.  There  were  also  twelve 
silver  candlesticks  weighing  171^  oz.,  two  branches  for 
three  lights,  two  large  glass  sconces  with  glass  arms.  The 
hearth  furnishings  included  a  brass  hearth  and  dogs,  a  pair 
of  steel  dogs,  tongs,  shovels,  japanned  and  plain  bellows, 
and  **  an  iron  fender  to  keep  children  from  the  fire.*' 
There  were  many  other  household  conveniences,  among 
which  we  may  note  a  linen  press,  a  horse  for  drying 
clothes,  a  plate  heater,  a  plate  rack,  an  iron  cofl^ee  mill, 
and  a  screen  to  set  before  meat  at  the  fire.  There  were 
large  quantities  of  household  linen.  The  rooms  were  lav- 
ishly adorned  with  pictures,  as  well  as  curtains,  cloths,  and 
tapestries.  Three  sets  of  the  genealogy  of  the  House  of 
Brunswick  recall  the  Governor's  loyalty,  and  his  family's 
rewarded  services  to  that  House.  A  tree  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  Martin  Luther's  picture,  a  lady's  picture  over 
the  door,  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary's  picture  with  Jesus  in 
her  arms  (j£^2),  five  plans  of  Boston,  and  a  view  of  Boston 
harbour  are  the  only  subjects  mentioned.  There  were 
"  two  pictures  in  lackered  frames,  ^^5  ;  151  Italian  prints, 
j^  1 5-2-0;    17  masentinto  prints  in  frames,  3   ditto  small, 

*7$ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


3  ditto  that  are  glazed,  ^5- 
4-0 ;  and  44  prints  in  black 
frames,  ^{'7-1 5-0."  The 
possessions  of  the  Governor 
breathe  an  atmosphere  of 
ease  and  luxury  that  one 
would  scarcely  expect  to 
find  in  New  York  during 
the  third  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  He 
was  evidently  fond  of  good 
living,  games,  sport,  exer- 
cise and  music.  He  had 
three  coach  horses  and  a 
horse  for  riding.  Five  cases 
of  foils  and  a  single  foil 
show  that  he  was  a  fencer ; 
and  three  muskets  and  a 
cane  fishing-rod  prove  that 
he  was  a  sportsman.  "  Nine 
gouff  clubs,  one  iron  ditto 
and  seven  dozen  balls " 
show  that  the  game  was  played  on  Manhattan  Island  nearly 
two  centuries  ago.  A  chess-board,  backgammon-table, 
card-table,  magic-lantern,  harpsichord,  clapsichord,  double 
courtell,  tenor  fiddle,  large  bass  violin,  two  treble  violins 
and  two  brass  trumpets  testify  that  music  and  games  were 
played  in  the  Governor's  mansion.  His  cellar  was  well 
stocked. 

The  "  embowed  chairs  "  that  occur  in  the  above  in- 
ventory were  of  that  style  that  is  now  generally  called 
"Chippendale."     The  top  bar  was  bow-shaped,  and  perhaps 

276 


PLATE   BACK.  CHAIR 

Originally  owned  by  Elbridge  Gerry  ;  now  in  old 
State  House,  Boston. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

the  word  embowed  also  included  the  cabriole  leg.  Plate- 
back  chairs,  examples  of  which  appear  on  this  page,  fre- 
quently occur  in  the  inventories.  These  were  chairs  with 
solid  splats,  the  outlines  of  which  assumed  various  forms, 
that  of  the  jar  prevailing.  An  excellent  specimen  of  this 
chair,  that  belonged  to  Elbridge  Gerry,  and  is  now  in  the 
old  State  House,   Boston,  is  shown  on  page   276.      Here 


DUTCH  CHAIRS 
Owned  by  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mast. 


we  have  the  jar-shaped  splat,  embowed  top-rail,  and  cabriole 
leg  ending  in  hoof  feet.  Dutch  chairs  of  kindred  model 
appear  on  page  295  and  facing  page  286.  For  decorative 
purposes,  this  splat  was  perforated  with  a  heart  or  some 
geometrical  figure,  and  from  this  the  step  from  plate  to  bar 
tracery  was  a  very  simple  one.  This  development  is  ap- 
parent before  Chippendale  is  known  to  have  been  at  work. 
In  the  Dublin  museum  there  is  a  very  early  example  of  a 
mahogany  arm-chair,  attributed  to  about  171  o,  which  has 


»77 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  square  back  with  scrolled  top-bar,  back-rail  of  openwork 
with  interlacing  design,  plain  arms,  square  back  legs,  and 
incurving,  tapering  front  legs  ending  in  hoofs.  Another 
mahogany  chair  in  the  same  collection,  made  in  1710,  has 
the  cabriole  leg  and  other  characteristics  of  the  new  style. 
There  are  slight  curves  in  the  back,  and  the  splat  is  un- 
pierced.  Instead  of  having  a  hollowed  wooden  seat  for 
the  cushion,  the  latter  is  placed  on  a  network  of  tapes. 
By  1730,  the  solid  splat  has  entirely  gone  out  of  fashion  :  it 
is  now  sometimes  carved  into  ribbons  formed  into  loops. 

Sir  William  Burnet's  chairs,  shown  facing  page  274, 
which  were  bought  in  1727,  are  good  examples  of  the 
"  embowed  "  chair.  These  chairs,  of  which  there  are  ten, 
together  with  the  handsome  mahogany  ball-and-claw  foot 
table  shown  on  opposite  page,  are  owned  by  the  Yale  Univer- 
sity Library,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Abram  Bishop  of  New  Haven 
in  1829.  According  to  Professor  Silliman's  account,  they 
were  imported  in  1727  by  Sir  William  Burnet,  and  passed 
after  his  death  into  possession  of  his  successor.  Governor 
Belcher.  Mr.  P.  N.  Smith  bought  them  at  auction,  and 
Mr.  Bishop  obtained  them  from  Mr.  Smith. 

We  have  now  reached  a  date,  therefore,  at  which  the 
mahogany  furniture,  still  so  greatly  prized,  might  be  pro- 
cured by  those  who  cared  to  pay  for  it.  During  the  rest 
of  our  period,  the  tendency  was  towards  greater  lightness 
and  grace  of  line.  We  will  not  dwell  any  further  on  the 
contents  of  individual  houses,  but  turn  to  the  newspapers 
of  the  day  and  note  the  goods  and  novelties  that  were  im- 
ported and  those  that  were  made  here  by  local  shopkeepers. 

It  is  plain  that  English  and  foreign  skilled  workmen 
came  here  in  large  numbers  and  found  employment.  The 
upholsterers  alone  were  a  nuj;n.erous  body.     XJie  .kiad  oi 

278 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

work  upholsterers  did  during  this  period,  and  the  goods 
they  kept  on  sale,  are  fully  advertised. 

A  handsome  upholstered  settee  of  the  period,  with  hall 
and  claw  feet  and  carved  with  the  acanthus  leaf,  is  owned 
by  Gerald  Beekman,  Esq.,  and  is  shown  below. 


SETTEE 
Owned  by  Gerald  Beekman,  Em).,  New  York. 


A  bedstead  of  the  period  is  shown  on  page  281.  It  is 
owned  by  Mr.  William  Livingston  Mynderse,  of  Sche- 
nectady, N.  Y.  The  old  blue  and  white  curtains  that 
drape  it  were  originally  in  the  Glen-Sanders  house,  Scotia, 
N.  Y. 

Bed  furnishings  were  sold  in  bewildering  varieties. 
Sometimes  the  bed  and  curtains  complete  are  offered 
for  sale.      John    Searson    has   a   yellow   silk  damask   bed, 

279 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bedstead  and  sacking  bottom,  in  1763.  We  also  note 
a  mahogany  bedstead  with  silk  and  worsted  damask 
curtains,  1764;  and  a  moreen  bed  and  curtains,  1773. 
Some  of  the  gay  materials  supplied  for  bed  furnishings 
are  as  follows  :  yellow  camblet  laced,  173  i  ;  corded  dimities, 
1749;  rusvsels  and  flowered  damasks,  1750;  flowered  russels, 
1758  ;  blue  and  green  flowered  russel  damask,  and  blue  cur- 
tain calico,  1759;  checked  and  striped  linen  for  beds  and 
windows,  1 760 ;  chintz  and  cotton  furniture  for  beds,  1 765  ; 
flne  bordered  chintzes  elegantly  pencilled,  and  copper-plate 
bed  furniture,  1770  ;  blue  and  white,  red  and  white  copper- 
plate cottons ;  red  and  white,  blue  and  white,  and  purple  furni- 
ture calicoes,  1771  ;  and  India,  English,  and  Patna  chintzes, 
I  774.  In  1 774,  Woodward  &  Kip,  near  the  Fly  Market,  have 
'*  flne  laylock  and  fancy  callicoes,  red,  blue,  and  purple,  fine 
copper  plate  ditto,  laylock  lutestring,  light  figured,  fancy, 
shell.  Pompadour  and  French  ground  fine  chintzes.  Purple, 
blue  and  red  copper-plate  furniture  calicoes,  ditto  furniture 
bindings,  and  black,  blue,  brown,  Saxon;  green,  pea-green, 
yellow,  crimson,  garnet,  pink  and  purple  moreens. "•=' 

It  will  be  noticed  that  plain  white  curtains  do  not  pre- 
dominate. We  also  note  bed  cords,  silk  and  worsted  bed 
lace,  and  silk  fringe  and  snail  trimmings  of  all  colours. 
"  Jillmills  for  musketto  curtains"  are  sold  in  1750;  "col- 
oured lawns  and  gauzes,  plain,  spotted  and  flowered  for 
musqueto  hangings,"  1760;  and  white  and  green  catgut 
for  ditto,  1772.  The  upholsterers'  announcements  clearly 
show  the  work  undertaken  by  them,  and  the  successive  pre- 
vailing styles.  Paper-hanging  was  evidently  an  important 
part  of  the  business,  and  the  walls  of  the  better  houses  were 
papered  before  the  middle  of  the  century. 

*  The  last  chapter  of  this  work  deals  further  with  upholstery. 
280 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Among  the  advertisements  we  find  : 
"  Stained  paper  for  hangings,"  imported  in  the  snow  Nep- 
tune (1750J;   an   **  assortment  of  paper  hanging"  (1750); 


MAHOGANY  BEDSTEAD 
Owned  by  Mr.  William  Livingston  Mynderx,  Schenectady.      See  pjge  279. 

"flowered  paper"  (1751);  "a  curious  assortment  of  pa- 
per hangings",  brought  by  the  snow  Irene  (1752); 
*•  printed  paper  for  hanging  rooms"  (1760)  ;  Roper  Daw- 
son   offers  **  a   great  variety  of  paper  for    hangings,  stucco 

181 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

paper  for  ceilings,  etc.,  gilt  leather"  (1760)  ;  James  Des- 
brosses  has  "  a  large  variety  of  paper  hangings,"  arrived 
from  London  in  the  brig  Polly  ( 1 76 1 )  ;  Henry  Remsen 
"an  assortment  of  paper  for  hangings"  (1762)  ;  William 
Wilson,  Hanover  Square,  "  a  variety  of  flowered  hanging 
paper  "  imported  in  the  Albany  ( 1762)  ;  "  gilt  paper  hang- 
ings "  (1765);  and  William  Bailey  imports  in  the  Samson 
from  London  "  a  large  assortment  of  paper  hangings  of 
the  newest  fashions."  Some  interesting  wall  paper  of  the 
period,  the  chief  features  of  which  are  four  large  pictures 
of  the  Seasons,  is  owned  by  Mr.  William  Bayard  Van  Rens- 
selaer in  Albany,  having  been  taken  from  the  walls  of  the 
Van  Rensselaer  manor  house  (built  in  1765)  before  it  was 
demolished  a  few  years  ago. 

In  the  average  house,  however,  if  we  may  believe  a 
contemporary  eye-witness,  the  walls  were  not  papered. 
Kalm,  a  Swedish  botanist,  describes  New  York  in  1748  as 
follows:  "  Most  of  the  houses  are  built  of  bricks;  and  are 
generally  strong  and  neat,  and  several  stories  high.  Some 
had,  according  to  old  architecture,  turned  the  gable-end 
towards  the  streets  ;  but  the  new  houses  were  altered  in  this 
respect.  Many  of  the  houses  had  a  balcony  on  the  roof, 
on  which  the  people  used  to  sit  in  the  evenings  in  the 
summer  season ;  and  from  thence  they  had  a  pleasant  view 
of  a  great  part  of  the  town,  and  likewise  of  part  of  the 
adjacent  water  and  of  the  opposite  shore.  The  walls  were 
whitewashed  within,  and  I  did  not  anywhere  see  hangings, 
with  which  the  people  in  this  country  seem  in  general  to 
be  little  acquainted.  The  walls  were  quite  covered  with  all 
sorts  of  drawings  and  pictures  in  small  frames.  On  each  side 
of  the  chimnies  they  usually  had  a  sort  of  alcove;  and  the 
wall  under  the  windows  was  wainscoted,  and  had  benches 

aSa 


MAHOGANY  CHAIR 

Owned  by  Mr.  fniliam  E.  /Vr  Planck,  Fishkill, 

N.  Y.     See  page  290. 


CARVED  OAK  ARM  CHAIR 
See  page  241. 


'"^ 


DUTCH  CHAIR 

Otoned  hy  Mr.  Gardner  C.  Leonard,  Albany. 

See  page  248. 


CHAIR 

From  the  Schuyler  House  on  the  flats, 
New  York.     See  page  248,. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

placed  near  it.  The  alcoves  and  all  the  woodwork  were 
painted  with  a  bluish  grey  colour." 

About  the  middle  of  the  century,  we  find  traces  of  the 
revived  taste  for  the  Gothic  style,  and  the  fashion  of  fitting 
up  rooms  in  various  ancient  and  modern  foreign  modes. 
Thus  in  1758,  we  have  a  certain  Theophilus  Hardenbrook, 
surveyor,  announcing  that  he  designs  all  sorts  of  buildings, 
pavilions,  summer  rooms,  seats  for  gardens,  etc.;  also  •*  all 
sorts  of  Rooms  after  the  taste  of  the  Arabian,  Chinese, 
Persian,  Gothic,  Muscovite,  Paladian,  Roman,  V^itruvian 
and  Egyptian  .  .  .  Green  houses  for  the  preservation  of 
Herbs  with  winding  Funnels  through  the  walls  so  as  to 
keep  them  warm.  Note  :  He  designs  and  executes  beau- 
tiful Chimney-pieces  as  any  here  yet  executed.  Said  Har- 
denbrook has  now  open'd  a  school  near  the  New  English 
Church  where  he  teaches  Architecture  from  6  o'clock  in 
the  Evening  till  Eight." 

"  In  the  City  of  New  York,  through  our  intercourse 
with  Europeans,  we  follow  the  London  fashions ;  though 
by  the  time  we  adopt  them,  they  become  disused  in  Eng- 
land. Our  affluence,  during  the  late  war,  introduced  a 
degree  of  luxury  in  tables,  dress,  and  furniture,  with  which 
we  were  before  unacquainted.  But  still  we  are  not  so  gay 
a  people  as  our  neighbours  at  Boston,  and  several  of  the 
Southern  colonies.  The  Dutch  counties,  in  some  measure, 
follow  the  example  of  New  York,  but  still  retain  many 
modes  peculiar  to  Hollanders.  The  City  of  New  York 
consists  principally  of  merchants,  shopkeepers,  and  trades- 
men who  sustain  the  reputation  of  honest,  punctual  and 
fair  dealers.  With  respect  to  riches  there  is  not  so  great 
an  inequality  among  us  as  is  common  in  Boston,  and  some 
other  places.      Every  man  of  industry  and   integrity  has  it 

Z83 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

in  his  power  to  live  well,  and  many  are  the  instances  of 
persons  who  came  here  distressed  by  their  poverty,  who 
now  enjoy  easy  and  plentiful  fortunes." 

The  above  is  a  contemporary  description  of  the  city  in 
1756.  The  writer  is  speaking  of  the  old  conservative 
element  in  the  community  that  is  always  slow  to  adopt 
new  fashions.  The  richest  families,  and  the  members  of 
the  aristocratic  class  in  England  who  had  their  permanent 
or  temporary  revsidence  here,  and  there  were  many  of  these, 
were  supplied  with  the  latest  modes  in  furniture  as  well  as 
in  costume  as  quickly  here  as  they  were  in  London.  In  tes- 
timony of  this  see  page  115. 

James  Rivington,  Hanover  Square,  has  for  sale  in  1760: 
"  Books  for  Architects,  Builders,  Joiners,  etc.,  particularly 
an  entire  new  work  entitled  Household  Furniture  for  the 
Tear  IjdOy  hy  a  society  of  Upholsterers ,  Cabinet-Makers ^  etc., 
containing  upwards  of  1 80  Designs  consisting  of  Tea-Tables, 
Dressing,  Card,  Writing,  Library,  and  Slab  Tables,  Chairs, 
Stools,  Couches,  Trays,  Chests,  Tea-Kettles,  Bureaus,  Beds, 
Ornatnental  Bed  Posts,  Cornishes,  Brackets,  Fire-Screens,  Desk 
and  Book  Cases,  Sconces,  Chimney -Pieces,  Girandoles,  Lan- 
thorns,  etc.,  with  Scales." 

The  above  book  was  for  sale  here  in  the  same  year  in 
which  it  was  published  in  London.  It  is  therefore  plain 
that  the  native  cabinet-makers  could,  and  undoubtedly  did, 
make  the  newest  styles  of  furniture  here  within  a  very  few 
months  of  their  appearance  in  London.  In  1748,  Kalm 
says  that  the  native  joiners  used  the  black  walnut,  wild 
cherry,  and  the  curled  maple  principally.  "  Of  the  black 
walnut-trees  [yuglans  nigra)  there  is  yet  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity. However,  careless  people  take  pains  enough  to 
destroy  them,  and  some  peasants  even   use  them  as  fewel. 

a84 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  wood  of  the  wild  cherry-trees  [Prunus  yirginiana)  is 
very  good  and  looks  exceedingly  well ;  it  has  a  yellow 
colour,  and  the  older  the  furniture  is,  which  is  made  of  it, 
the  better  it  looks.  But  it  is  already  difficult  to  get  at  it, 
for  they  cut  it  everywhere  and  plant  it  nowhere.  The 
curled  maple  (Acer  ruhruni)  is  a  species  of  the  common  red 
maple,  but  likewise  very  difficult  to  be  got.  .  .  .  The  wood 
of  the  sweet  gum-tree  (Liquidamhar)  is  merely  employed  in 
joiner's  work,  such  as  tables,  and  other  furniture.  But  it 
must  not  be  brought  near  the  lire,  because  it  warps.  The 
firs  and  the  white  cedars  {Cupressus  thyoides)  are  likewise 
made  use  of  by  the  joiners  for  different  sorts  of  work." 

Cedar  was  brought  from  the  Bermudas  and  Barbadoes. 
In  describing  the  latter  in   1741,  a  writer  says: 

"  The  first  and  fairest  tree  of  the  forest  is  the  Cedar ; 
'tis  the  most  useful  timber  in  the  island,  strong,  lasting, 
light  and  proper  for  building.  There  have  been  great 
quantities  of  it  sent  to  England  for  Wainscoting,  Stair- 
Cases,  Drawers,  Chairs  and  other  Household  Furniture ; 
but  the  smell,  which  is  so  pleasing  to  some  being  ofl^ensive 
to  others,  added  to  the  Cost,  has  hindered  its  coming  so 
much  in  Fashion  as  otherwise  it  would." 

In  1745,  Sheffield  Howard  advertised  mahogany  plank. 
The  Success  brought  in  Braziletto  wood  in  1758  ;  William 
Gilliland  imported  mahogany  plank  in  1760;  and  **  a  par- 
cel of  choice  red  cedar,  fit  for  either  joiners  or  house  car- 
penters," was  sold  in  1761.  In  1770,  "A  quantity  of  ma- 
hogany in  logs  and  planks  of  difi^erent  dimensions  and  brass 
furniture  for  desks  and  bookcases  of  the  newest  fashion  " 
came  to  public  vendue  ;  and  Stanton  and  Ten  Brook  on 
Deys  Dock  ofl^ered  pine,  cedar  and  **  mahogany  of  all  sorts 
for  joiners'  work." 

a8S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

A  cargo  of  60,000  feet  of  choice  large  bay  mahogany 
was  sold  in  1772,  and  another  cargo  the  following  year. 

In  addition  to  choice  timber,  metal  furnishings  for 
cabinet  ware  were  readily  obtainable.  In  1745,  Thomas 
Brown,  at  the  Sign  of  the  Cross  Daggers  in  the  Smith's 
Fly,  sold  ironmongery  and  all  materials  for  cabinet-makers. 
Among  other  announcements  of  this  class  of  ware,  we  find 
bolts  and  latches  for  doors;  drawer,  desk,  cabinet  arid  chest 
locks ;  "  polished  brass  handles  and  locks  in  sute  for  writ- 
ing desks,  closets  and  door  locks  of  sundry  sorts";  hand- 
some brass  locks  for  parlours  ;  "  all  sorts  of  locks  and  brass 
handles  "  ;  **  closet,  chest,  and  cupboard  locks  ;  rimmed 
and  brass  knobed  do."  ;  "  brass  ring  drops  "  ;  desk  and  tea 
chest  furniture ;  brass  knockers,  knobs  for  street  doors,  brass 
locks,  copper  chafing  dishes,  and  brass  curtain  rings,  1750; 
"  bookcase  and  escrutore  setts,  brass  handles  and  escutcheons," 
1751  ;  "brass  and  wood  casters,  curtain  rings,  brass  knobs 
and  all  Sorts  of  locks,  desk  suits,"  1752  ;  brass  chair  nails, 
**  brass  handles  and  escutcheons  of  the  newest  fashion," 
"  H  H  L  hinges,"  chest  ditto,  table  hinges,  table  catches ; 
**  locks  in  suits  for  desks  "  ;  "  single  and  double  spring, 
chest  locks";  a  large  variety  of  brass  furniture,  etc.,  for 
desks  and  chests  of  drawers  ;  brass  handles  for  desks  and 
drawers,  and  brass  hinges  and  casters,  1758. 

It  would  seem  that  it  was  not  unusual  for  some  people 
to  supply  their  own  timber,  etc.,  to  have  made  up  accord- 
ing to  their  own  fancy.  In  1 751,  John  Tremain,  "having 
declined  the  stage,  proposes  to  follow  his  business  as  a  cab- 
inet-maker." Among  the  inducements  he  offers  for  cus- 
tom, he  says  : 

**  Those  who  incline  to  find  their  own  Stuff,  may  have 
it  work'd  up  with  Despatch,  Honesty,  and  Faithfulness." 

z86 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

Cabinet-making,  moreover,  seems  to  have  been  a 
favorite  occupation  with  some  amateurs  at  that  date,  for  we 
hnd  "chests  of  tools  for  the  use  of  gentlemen  who  amuse 
themselves  in  turning  and  other  branches  of  the  mechanic 
art,"  for  sale  in   1771 . 

Many  of  the  cabinet-makers  of  New  York  carried  on 
an  importing  as  well  as  a  manufacturing  business.  There 
were  skilled  workmen  here  who  had  been  trained  abroad 
and  could  produce  furniture  as  good  as  the  best  foreign 
article.  In  1753,  **  Rt)bert  Wallace,  joyner,  living  in  Bea- 
ver Street,  at  the  Corner  of  New  Street,  makes  all  vsorts  of 
Cabinets,  Scrutores,  Desks  and  Book  cases.  Drawers,  Ta- 
bles, either  square,  round,  oval,  or  quadrile,  and  chairs  of 
any  fashion." 

Solomon  Hays  at  his  store,  Beaver  Street  and  Broad 
Street,  offers,  in  1754,  "a  choice  assortment  of  India,  Ja- 
pan gilded  Tea  Tables,  square  Dressing  ditto  of  which 
Sort  none  were  ever  before  in  America  ;  beautiful  sets  of 
Tea  Boards,  answerable  to  the  Tea  Tables  ;  line  marble 
Tea  Tables  with  complete  sets  of  cups  and  saucers  in 
Boxes  for  little  Misses." 

"  Stephen  Dwight,  late  an  apprentice  to  Henry  Hard- 
castle,  carver,"  in  1755  sets  up  business  "between  the 
Ferry  Stairs  and  Burling  Slip,  where  he  carves  all  sorts  of 
ship  and  house  work  ;  also  tables,  chairs,  picture  and  look- 
ing-glass frames,  and  all  kinds  of  work  for  cabinet-makers, 
in  the  best  manner  and  on  reasonable  terms." 

Ciilbert  Ash  had  a  **  Shop-joiner  or  cabinet-business  in 
Wall  Street,  in  1759;  and  Charles  Shipman  comes  from 
England  and,  in  1767,  settles  near  the  Old  Slip.  He  is  an 
ivory  and  hard  wood  turner,  "  having  been  an  apprentice 
to  a  Turning-Manufactory  at   Birmingham."      He  make? 

187 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"  mahogany  waiters  and  bottle  stands,  pepper-boxes,  patch- 
boxes,  washball  boxes,  soap-boxes,  pounce-boxes,  glove- 
sticks,  etc.,  etc." 

Flagg  and  Searle  of  Broad  Street,  in  1765,  announce 
"  japanning  and  lacquering  after  the  neatest  manner." 

In  1762,  we  tind  **  John  Brinner,  cabinet  and  chair- 
maker  from  London  at  the  Sign  of  the  Chair,  opposite  Flat- 
ten Barrack  Hill,  in  the  Broad- Way,  New  York,  where 
every  article  in  the  Cabinet,  Chair-making,  Carving  and 
Gilding  Business,  is  enacted  on  the  most  reasonable  Terms, 
with  the  Utmost  Neatness  and  Punctuality.  He  carves  all 
Sorts  of  Architectural,  Gothic,  and  Chinese  Chimney-Pieces, 
Glass  and  Picture  Frames,  Slab  Frames,  Girondels,  Chan- 
daliers,  and  all  kinds  of  Mouldings  and  Frontispieces,  etc., 
etc.  Desk  and  Book  Cases,  Library  Book  Cases,  Writing 
and  Reading  Tables,  Study  Tables,  China  Shelves  and  Cases, 
Commode  and  Plain  Chest  of  Drawers,  Gothic  and  Chinese 
chairs  ;  all  sorts  of  plain  or  ornamental  Chairs,  Sofa  Beds, 
Sofa  Settees,  Couch  and  easy  Chairs,  Frames,  all  kinds  of 
Field  Bedsteads,  etc.,  etc." 

'*  N.  B.  He  has  brought  over  from  London  six  Artifi- 
cers,  well   skilled   in   the  above   branches." 

A  few  months  later  he  announces  "a  neat  mahogany 
desk  and  a  bookcase  in  the  Chinese  taste." 

Jane  Wilson  has  "japan'd  goods  with  cream  coloured 
grounds,  and  other  colours  of  the  newest  taste;  The  mod-- 
els  also  are  new  constructions,  some  of  them  only  finished 
last  May  at  Birmingham  and  imported  to  New  York  the 
4th  inst.  in  the  ship  Hope ;  consisting  of  tea  trays  and 
waiters,  tea  chests  compleated  with  cannisters,  tea  kitchen 
and  compleat  tea  tables,  ornamented  with  well  painted 
landskips,  human  figures,  fruit  and  flowers.** 

a88 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


MAHOGANY  CHAIRS 
Owned  by  Mr.  William  t.  Ver  Planck,  FishkiU,  N.  Y.      See  page  290. 

The  painted  table  appears  in  many  of  the  early  inven- 
tories. Those  of  Dutch  and  French  workmanship,  deco- 
rated with  flowers  and  birds  and  sometimes  historical  and 
mythological  subjects,  were  quite  expensive.  An  elaborate 
example  of  this  class  appears  facing  page  298.  It  belongs 
to  Miss  Katharine  Van  Rensselaer,  at  Vlie  House,  Rens- 
selaer, N.  Y. 

Specimens  of  the  more  luxurious  furniture  of  the  period 
are  shown  on  the  frontispiece  and  facing  page  282.  This 
beautiful  set  of  Gobelin  tapestry,  consisting  of  two  large 
sofas,  two  tabourets  and  eighteen  chairs,  was  imported  for 
the  ball-room  of  Mount  Pleasant^  the  Beekman  home  on 
First  Avenue  and  Fifty-first  Street,  New  York.  The 
house,  which  was   built  in    1763    by  James  Beekman  and 

189 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

remained  standing  until  1874,  was  associated  with  many 
historic  characters  and  events.  It  was  the  headquarters  of 
General  Charles  Clinton  and  Sir  William  Howe.  Andre 
slept  here  before  he  left  for  West  Point,  and  Nathan  Hale 
was  tried  and  convicted  as  a  spy  in  its  greenhouse.  The 
furniture  preserves  its  original  mounts;  the  sofas  and 
tabourets  show  hunting  and  pastoral  scenes,  and  each  chair 
presents  a  different  illustration  from  Msop's  Fables. 


TWO    MAHOGANY    CHAIRS    FROM    THE     GANSEVOORT    FAMILY,    AND    A    CHAIR 
FROM    THE    SCHUYLER    FAMILY 

Now  owned  b)   Mrs.  Abraham  Lansing,  Albany. 


The  handsome  chair  facing  page  286  (top  left-hand 
corner)  is  one  of  a  set  of  twelve  brought  to  New  York 
in  1763  by  Judith  Crommelin  of  Amsterdam,  who  was 
married  to  Samuel  V^erplanck.  This  couple  settled  in 
Fishkill,  and  the  chair  is  now  in  the  Verplanck  home,  there 
owned  by  Mr.  William  E.  Verplanck.  The  chair  is  hand- 
somely carved,  and  preserves  its  original  yellow  damask. 

The  interesting  chairs,  with  Turkey-work  seats,  repre- 

290 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 


sented  on  page  289,  are  also  owned 
by  Mr.  William  E.  Verplanck  at  Fish- 
kill,  New  York. 

Two   chairs   from  the  Gansevoort 
family  appear   on    page    290,    with    a 
Schuyler    chair.      All  three  specimens 
are  owned  by    Mrs.  Abraham  Lansing 
ot  Albany.      Another  chair  belonging 
to  the  (iansevoorts,  and  shown 
on    this    page,    is    owned   by 
Mrs.  Blanche  Douw  Allen  of 
New  ^'ork.      The  top-rail   is 
bow-shaped,  the  splat  pierced 
and  carved,  the  seat   is  rush- 
bottomed,  and  the  two  front 
legs     end     in     curious     dog- 
shaped  claws. 

The  chair,  on   page   292, 
ifi  the  Schuyler  house  oppo- 
site  '*   the    Flats  "    near    Al- 
bany,   belonged   to    Stephen    Schuvler,    and    is    owned    by 
Mr.  Stephen  Schuyler. 

An  early  example  of  a  "wing  chair,"  or  "saddle- 
check  chair,"  appears  on  page  293.  This  belongs  to 
Mrs.  Harriet  Van  Rensselaer  Ciould  of  East  Orange,  New 
Jersey,  and  is  kept  in  the  Van  Rensselaer  house,  C/wrry 
Hill^  Albany.  This  is  one  of  the  old  Van  RenSvSelaer 
pieces,  and  is  covered  with  a  sort  of  brown  matting, 
much  worn.  This  kind  of  chair  is  usually  covered 
with  chintz,  and  a  deep  Hounce,  or  ruffle,  nearly  hides  the 
feet. 

The  corner  chair  shown  on  page  294  was  the  property 

»9« 


CHAIR 
Owned  bv  Mrs.  Blanche  Doum  Allen,  New  York. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


of  John  Stevenson,  and  descended  through  his  grandson  of 
the  same  name  to  Mrs.  Augustus  Walsh,  of  Albany. 

"Minshiell's  Looking  Glass  Store, 
removed  from  Smith  Street  to  Hanover 
Square  (opposite  Mr.  Goelet's  the  sign 
of  the  Golden  Key),  has  for  sale  "an 
elegant  assortment  of  looking-glasses 
in  oval  and  square  ornamental  frames, 
ditto  mahogany ;  the  greatest  variety 
of  girandoles  ever  imported  to  this 
city;  brackets  for  busts 
or  lustres,  ornaments  for 
chimney-pieces  as  tab- 
lets, friezes,  etc.  Birds 
and  baskets  of  flowers, 
for  the  top  of  book- 
cases or  glass  frames,  gilt 
bordering  for  rooms  by 
the  yard.  Engravings 
by  Strange,  Woollet,  Vi- 
vares,  and  other  eminent 
masters.  A  pleasing  va- 
riety of  mezzotintoes 
well  chosen  and  beauti- 
Also  an 
of 
Any  Lady  or  Gentleman  that  have 
glass  in  old  fashioned  frames  may  have  them  cut  to  ovals, 
or  put  in  any  pattern  that  pleases  them  best.  The  above 
frames  may  be  finished  white,  or  green  and  white,  purple,  o; 
any  other  colour  that  suits  the  furniture  of  the  room,  or  gil., 
in  oil  or  burnished  gold  equal  to  the  best  imported."  ( i  yjS') 

292 


OLD   OAK  CHAIR 

Owned  by  Stephen  Schuyler,  now  by  his  descendant,  Mr.     fuUy    Coloured 

Stephen  Schuvler,  Troy  Road,  N.  Y.  . 

elegant     assortment 
frames  without  glass. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Italian  marble  ta- 
bles are  imported  in 
1750;  "fashionable 
chairs "  are  offered  by 
Sidney  Breese  in  1757; 
Samuel  Parker  imports 
in  the  Dove  "  a  very 
complete  London  made 
mahogany  buroe  and 
bookcase  and  other  fur- 
'liture  "  ( 1762)  ;  ma- 
hogany furniture  and  a 
fine  damask  bed  come 
to  public  vendue  in 
1764;  "japanned  stands 
of  all  prices  beautifully 

J  J         -1     »»      OL"    "wing"    or   "SADDLE-CHECK"    CHAIR 

ornamented      and     gilt  Owncd  by  Mrs.H.  Van  Rens«laer  GouId,.tCW^  «.//, 

are  imported  by  Duyc-  ^"""y-  s«pagc29«. 
kinck,  1 764 ;  and  handsome  chairs  with  damask  seats  and 
backs  are  advertised  in  1765.  Thomas  Fogg  offers  "a 
quantity  of  worsted  furniture,"  and  W.  N.  Stuyvesant 
auctions  "some  mahogany  chairs,"  1765;  Nicholas  Car- 
mer.  Maiden  Lane,  imports  "  a  neat  parcel  of  mahogany 
chairs  and  desks  and  bookcases,  tables,  etc.,  and  a  parcel  of 
mahogany  plank,"  1767;  "some  choice  marble  slabs  for 
side  tables  "  are  ofl^ered  cheap  by  Captain  William  Stewart, 
on  King  Street,  1767;  "a  mahogany  fluted  double  chest 
of  drawers,  a  microscope,  a  good  Wilton  carpet,  two  bed- 
side ditto,  and  three  sets  fire  furniture  "  come  to  public 
vendue  in  1768  ;  "  beautiful  mahogany  chairs"  and  "chests 
upon  chests"  are  sold  in  1769  ;  crimson  worsted  furniture, 
1 770 ;    «*  parcel    of  mahogany    desk,   desk    and    bookcase, 

293 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

chest    upon    chest,  dining    tables,    tea    tables,   stands,  and 
buroes,  mahogany  cases  with  knives  and  forks,"   1771. 

The  above  extracts  are  ample  to  show  the  kind  of  fur- 
niture that  was  imported  and  that  was  made  in  New  York 
Boston  and    Philadelphia   also  produced   a   lot  of  cabinet- 
work which  occasionally  is  offered  for  sale  in   the  papers. 


CORNER    CHAIR 
Originally  belonging  to  John  Stevenson,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Augustus  Walsh,  Albany.       See  page  291. 

Garrit  Van  Home  Fishef,  at  his  store  in  Smith  Street, 
**  has  some  neat  black  walnut  Boston  made  chairs  with 
leather  seats  to  dispose  of"  (1759)  ;  and  Perry  Hayes  and 
Sherbroke  advertise  **  Philadelphia  made  Windsor  chairs  " 

(1763)- 

Two  old  chairs  from  the  Van  Cortlandt  House,  Croton- 

on-the-Hudson,  are  shown  on  the  opposite  page. 

We   learn  that    the  Hoors  of   the    average    house   were 

294 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


TWO    CHAIRS 

From  the  Van  CortUndt  House,  Croton-on-the- Hudson,  N.  Y. 

sanded  until  towards  the  middle  of  the  century  when  car- 
pets became  more  general.  In  1747,  bedside  carpets  are 
advertised;  and,  in  1749,  bedside  and  floor  carpets.  In 
1750,  the  Neptune  brings  in  flowered  carpets.  In  1752,  the 
Mary  has  white  cotton  bed  carpets  ;  the  Nebuchadfiezzar^ 
haircloth  for  floors ;  and  the  Irene,  "  painted  floor  cloths 
in  the  handsomest  manner."  Then  appear  successively 
**  Rich  beautiful  Turkey  fashion  carpets,"  1757;  "  Persian 
and  Scotch  carpeting  and  ditto  bedsides,"  1758;  Wilton 
and  the  best  Turkey  carpets  of  all  sizes,  1759;  stair  cloth, 
Scotch  carpets  and  "  carpeting  for  floors,  chairs  and  tables," 
1760.  Thus  the  word  carpet  is  not  yet  used  exclusively 
as  a  term  for  a  floor  covering.  Next  we  have  carpeting 
for   stairs,    1762;    painted   floor    cloths   and    entry  cloths, 

*95 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

haircloth  for  entries  and  staircases,  and  handsome  mo- 
hair carpeting,  1 764.  At  the  same  date,  also,  we  have 
•*  Persia,  Scotch,  list,  entry.  Floor,  Bedside,  Table,  and 
painted,"  besides  **  bordering  lists  for  carpitting."  Two 
excellent  Turkey  carpets,  one  of  them  seven  yards  square, 
are  offered  for  sale  in  1765.  Wilton  and  Axminster 
carpets  cost  from  ^3  to  j^6o  in  1771  ;  and  in  the  next 
year  there  are  square  and  list  carpets  for  beds,  and  the 
Hero  brings  some  beautiful  plush  carpeting  from  Ayr. 

"  Brass  rods  for  fixing  carpeting  on  stairs  "  could  be 
had  at  James  Byers,  Brass  Founder,  South  Street,  in  1 767  ; 
and  large  brass  and  iron  wire  for  staircases,  1772. 

The  fireplace  was  a  decorative  feature  of  the  room  all 
through  this  period.  Coal  gradually  succeeded  wood  as 
fuel,  and  grates  took  the  place  of  andirons ;  but  coloured 
tiles  still  made  the  chimney-piece  and  hearth  gay  with 
scriptural,  historical,  and  landscape  subjects.  The  articles 
manufactured  here  and  imported  for  the  decoration  and 
service  of  the  hearth  were  numerous.  A  few  selections 
from  this  class  of  goods  include  the  following : 

A  marble  chimney-piece,  1744;  "new  fire  places," 
made  by  Robert  Grace  in  Pennsylvania,  1744—5  ;  "a  par- 
cel of  handsome  Scripture  tiles  with  the  Chapter  and  some 
plain  white  ditto,"  1748;  history  and  landscape  tiles,  1750  ; 
marble  hearths,  1751  ;  "a  parcel  of  choice  iron  ash  pails 
proper  for  taking  up  hot  ashes  from  hearths  to  let  them 
cool  in";  green  and  yellow  hearth  tiles;  white  and  Script- 
ure galley  tiles ;  steel  hearths  with  mouldings  and  stove 
grates  from  England.  "  Just  imported  from  Bristol  and 
to  be  sold  by  Rip  Van  Dam  a  large  iron  hearth  plate  with 
brass  feet  and  handles,"  1752;  two  handsome  marble 
hearths   with   layers   suited    to   the  hearth  are   offered  in 

296 


MARQUETRY  CHEST  OF  DRAWERS  AND  GL.\SS  CASE 
Owned  by  Mr.  John  F.  L.  Pruyn,  Nno  York.     See  page  256. 


OVAL    PAINTED  TABLE 

OiL-neJ  hy  Miss  Katharine  Van  Rensselaer,  Vlie  Houses  Rensselaer,  N.   T. 


See  page  28g 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

1753  ;  John  Beekman  has  some  German  stoves,  iron  backs, 
marble  chimney  fronts  and  marble  tea  tables  for  sale  in 
1757;  carved  and  plain  chimney  backs  are  imported,  1759; 
ind  chimney  tiles  and  stucco  ornaments  for  ceilings  and 
chimney-pieces  are  sold  by  Bernard  Lintot,  1760.  "Ger- 
man cast  iron  stoves  round  and  square,  handsome  marble 
chimney  fronts  and  hearth  stones,  hearth  and  Jam  tiles  " 
are  for  sale  by  Robert  Crommclin,  1761  ;  "mantel-pieces, 
iron  grates  for  coals.  Scripture  and  landskip  chimney  tiles, 
Boston  do.,  for  oven  floors  and  hearths,"  1 764  ;  best  blue  and 
white  landscape  tiles,  common  do.,  and  purple  best  do. ;  and 
open  work  mahogany  mantelpieces,  1765.  Red  and  blue 
hearth  tiles  are  sold  by  Samuel  V^crplanck,  1765.  James 
Byers,  brass  founder  in  South  Street,  makes  **  brass  mouldings 
to  cover  the  edges  of  marble  or  tiled  tire  places,"  1768; 
"  marble  hearths  very  beautifully  variegated  with  difl^erent 
colours"  are  sold  by  Philip  Livingston  at  his  store,  Burnet's 
Quay  ;  and  elegant  grates  or  Bath  stoves  are  imported  in 
1768.  Samuel  Francis,  Vauxhall  Gardens,  ofl^ers  **  two 
carved  formitif  pieces  for  a  fire  place  "  ;  and  several  sets 
of  very  curious  Italian,  Derbyshire,  and  Kilkenny  marble 
for  fireplaces  just  imported  from  London  are  sold  by  Walter 
Franklin  &  Co.,  1770. 

From  1 75 1  to  1761,  large  importations  of  china  are 
constantly  advertised,  the  varieties  consisting  chiefly  of  blue 
and  white  earthenware.  Delft,  japanned,  gilded  and  flow- 
ered, green  ware,  Tunbridge  and  Portabella  wares,  blue 
and  enamelled,  "  aggott,"  "  tortoise,"  "  pannel'd  "  and 
Stafi\)rdshire  Flint  ware.  In  1765,  James  Gilliland  adver- 
tises at  his  Earthen  and  Glass-ware  house  **  flower  horns, 
wash  hand  basins  without  bottles,  pine  apple  and  colly 
flower  coffee  pots,  cream   coloured  tea  pots,  white  tortoise 

*97 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

mugs  and  jugs,  coffee  cans,  pearl'd  flower  horns  and  land- 
skip  tortoiseshell  coffee  pots,  black  ware,  white  stone 
tureens,  mallon,  all  with  stands."  "  Agate  and  mellonea 
ware"  are  advertised  in  1766;  "white  and  enamelled  tea 
table  setts,  white  and  burnt  China  bowls  from  Yz  pint  to 
3  gallons,  quart  and  pint  mugs,  jars  and  beakers,  sauce 
boats,  spoon  boats,  children's  tea  table  sets,  dining  sets 
ranging  from  16  to  24  guineas,  blue  and  white  enamelled 
china,  blue  and  white  landscape  china,  enamell'd  white 
gilt  landscape,  nankin,  brown  edged  sprig  and  duck  break- 
fast cups  and  saucers,  black  and  white  ribbed  and  engraved 
sauce  boats,  sugar  dishes,  enamelled  gilt  image  and  sprig 
damasked  tea  pots,  enamelled  coffee  cans  and  saucers,  pen- 
cilled china,  burnt  china,  blue  and  white  china,  white 
quilted  and  plain  sugar  dishes,  cream  jugs,  flower  jars,  etc.," 
are  imported  from  London  and  Bristol  in  1 767.  "  A 
parcel  of  china  useful  and  ornamental.  Queen's  or  yellow 
ware,  delf  and  black  earthenware"  is  offered  in  1769. 
An  earthenware  manufactory  is  started  at  Norwich,  Conn., 
in  1 77 1,  and  although  domestic  productions  constantly 
appear,  the  ships  continually  bring  in  china  and  earthen- 
ware of  new  patterns  and  shapes.  "  Enamelled  salt  cellars 
pink,  blue  and  green,"  and  "one  dozen  very  handsome 
caudle  cups  and  saucers"  are  advertised  in  1771,  and  in 
the  next  year  John  J.  Roosevelt,  Maiden  Lane,  imports 
from  England  "  an  elegant  assortment  of  burnt  china  jars 
and  beakers,  fruit  baskets,  butter  tubs,  sauce  boats  and 
pickel  leaves."  George  Bell,  Bayard  Street,  has  "  burnt 
china,  quilted  china,  pencil'd  china,  blue  and  white  Queen's 
ware,  Delph,  stone  enamell'd  black,"  etc.,  in  1773;  at 
Rhinelander's  store  in  1 774,  there  was  "  a  fine  assortment  of 
china,  including  blue  and  white,  blue  and  gold,  purple  and 

*9« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

gold  and  enamelled  and  burnt."  "  Several  very  elegant  sets 
of  Dresden  tea  table  china  and  ornamental  jars  and  figures 
decorated  and  enriched  in  the  highest  taste  "  are  advertised 
by  Henry  Wilmot,  Hanover  Square,  in  1775.  James 
Byers  was  riveting  broken  china  in  1769,  and  Jacob  de 
Acosta  repaired  with  cement  (see  page  301  ). 

Glass  ware  for  the  table  seems  to  have  been  very  plen- 
tiful. Wine,  beer  and  water  glasses,  square  and  round 
tumblers,  cruet  stands  and  cruet  frames,  and  sets  of  castors 
with  silver  tops  appear  from  1744  onward.  Glass  cream 
jugs  are  advertised  in  1752;  "neat  flowered  wine  and 
water  glasses,  glass  salvers,  silver  top  cruit  stands,  a  few 
neat  and  small  enamelled  shank  wine  glasses,  flowered, 
scalloped  and  plain  decanters  jugs  and  mugs,  salver  and 
pyramids,  jelly  and  silly  bub  glasses,  flowered,  plain  and 
enamelled  wine  glasses,  glasses  for  silver  salts  and  sweet 
meat,  poles  with  spires  and  glasses,  smelling  bottles,  scon- 
ces, tulip  and  flower  glasses  of  the  newest  pattern,  finger- 
bowls  and  tumblers  of  all  sorts,"  1762.  Cut  glass  and 
silver  ornamental  cruet  stands  cost  from  10  shillings  to  j^i  5 
each  in  1762.  Ten  years  later,  "  ebony  cruet  stands,  jelly 
glasses,  soy  cruets,  carroflrs,  wine  and  water  glasses  and 
bottle  stands  "  are  for  sale  by  John  J.  Roosevelt  in  Maiden 
Lane.  Wine  servers  and  "  bottle  slyders  "  appear  in  1 77 1  — 2 ; 
and  "  pearl  labels  for  decanters  "  and  "  corks  with  silver 
tops  for  do."  in  1773.  American  flint  glass  made  at  the 
Stiegel  Works,  Mannheim  is  advertised  in  1770. 

A  partial  list  of  articles  used  in  preparing  and  serving  tea 
includes:  copper  tea-kettles,  1744;  pewter  tea-pots,  1 745  ; 
"mahogany  tea-boards,"  1749;  tea-chests,  "neat  ponte- 
pool*  japanned  waiters,"  1 750 ;  mahogany  tea-chests,  brown 

*  So  calkd  from  the  town  in  England  where  it  was  nude. 
*99 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Polish  tea-kettles  with  lamps,  1751  ;  "japann'd  and  mahog- 
any tea  waiters  of  all  sizes,"  India  tea-boards,  "tea-chests 
of  all  sizes  mounted  with  plate  and  other  metals,"  Dutch 
kettles,  lamps,  and  coffee-pots,  1752  ;  "best  Holland  ket- 
tles with  riveted  spouts,"  1758;  sugar  cleavers  and  bells 
for  tea  tables,  brass  kettles  in  nests,  very  neat  chased  silver 
tea-pots,  sugar  pots,  chased  and  plain,  milk  pots  double 
and  single,  jointed  tea-tongs,  tea  spoons,  1759  ;  cannisters, 
brass  Indian  kettles  in  nests,  mahogany  and  book  tea 
chests,  1 760  ;  nests  of  kettles  to  hold  from  thirty  gallons 
down  to  a  quart,  1761  ;  plated  tea-boards  and  tea-trays, 
1762  ;  tin  kettles  in  nests,  painted  and  plain  sugar  boxes  of 
various  sizes,  japanned  cannisters,  neat  tea  chests  with  can- 
nisters, "  mahogany  tea-boards,  sliders,  tea-trays,  beautifully 
ornamented  japanned  tea  boards,  waiters  and  kettles  hand- 
somely japanned  and  gilt,  Chinese  tea  tongs,  tea  chests  and 
slyders,  the  most  fashionable  octagon  and  square  japann'd, 
hniered  and  inlaid  tea  chests,"  1764;  open  work  mahog- 
any tea-boards,  1765;  "  curious  japann'd  Pontipool  ware, 
viz.,  tea  equipage — a  fine  tea  kitchen  and  waiter,  a 
beautiful  24  inch  rail  tea  tray,  cannister,"  1768;  "one 
handsome  double  bellied  plaited  tea  kitchen  and  stand," 
1768  ;  urns  or  tea  kitchens,  silver  plated,  finely  chased  and 
plain  brown  tea  kitchens,  tea  pots  gilt  and  enamelled  of  the 
finest  ware,  1771  ;  japan'd  tea  tables,  kitchens,  trays,  chests, 
cannisters,  waiters,  bells,  1772;  pearl  and  tortoise  shell 
sugar  tongs,  inlaid  mahogany  tea  chests,  tea  cannisters 
lined  with  lead,  silver  milk  urns,  japann'd  Roman  trays, 
1773;  "polished  Gadrooned  and  fine  openwork  silver  tea 
tongs,  very  fashionable,"   1774. 

Turning  now  to  ornamental  china  used  for  the  decora- 
tion of  mantel-pieces,  as  well  as  for  the  tops  of  che«ts  of 

300 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

drawers,  escritoires  and  bookcases,  we  find  among  the 
importations  birds,  baskets  of  flowers  and  busts ;  **  a 
very  curious  parcel  of  plaster  of  Paris  Figures,"  1757; 
"plaster  of  Paris  ornaments  for  chimney-pieces,"  1758; 
"flower  horns,"  1758;  "some  beautiful  ornamental 
chimney-china,"  1766;  "white  stone  ware,  including 
complete  tea-table  toys  for  children,  with  a  great  collection 
of  different  kinds  of  birds,  beasts,  etc.,  in  stone  ware,  very 
ornamental  for  mantle  pieces,  chests  of  drawers,  etc.," 
1 767  ;  "  one  set  of  image  china,"  1 768  ;  "  a  few  pieces  of 
very  elegant  ornamental  china,"  1769.  Jacob  de  Acosta, 
who  mends  china  and  glasses  with  cement,  has  "  all  sorts 
of  marble  or  china  furniture  such  as  is  used  in  ornament- 
ing chests  of  drawers  or  chimney  pieces,"  1770;  Henry 
VVilmot  has  "  the  greatest  variety  of  ornamental  china, 
consisting  of  groups,  setts  of  figures,  pairs,  and  jars  just 
opened,"  1 770 ;  and  Mr.  Nash  offers  some  "superb  vases 
for  the  toilet,"   1771. 

Wax-work  ornaments  appear  in  1765  ;  glass  pyramids 
in  1764;  and  "glasses  to  grow  flowers,"   1775. 

The  dressing-tables  were  furnished  with  every  luxury, 
and  shaving  boxes  and  brushes  of  all  sorts  are  found  in  1 756. 
"  Neat  Morocco  tweese  cases  with  silver  door,  lock  and 
key,"  1759.  Complete  shaving  equipages,  japanned  comb 
trays,  and  India  dressing-boxes  are  imported  in  1759; 
complete  sets  of  shaving  utensils  in  shagreen  cases,  1 760  ; 
ladies'  equipage,  with  everything  complete  for  a  fashion- 
able toilet,  1761  ;  "shaving  equipages,  holding  razors,  scis- 
sars,  penknives,  combs,  hones,  oil  bottle,  brush  and  soap 
box  with  places  for  paper,  pens  and  ink,"  1761  ;  straw 
dressing-boxes  with  private  drawers,  1 764  ;  and  fish  skin 
razor   cases,  1774.      "Very  fine  travelling  cases  for  ladies 

301 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  gentlemen  contain  everything  to  make  a  journey  com- 
fortable, and  some  of  these  are  adapted  for  army  officers." 
The  "seal-skin  portmantua  "  is  fashionable  towards  1776. 

The  desk  and  escritoire  were  furnished  with  many  ar- 
ticles familiar  to-day :  but  sand  to  sprinkle  upon  and  dry  the 
ink,  and  wafers  and  quill  pens  have  now  almost  disappeared. 
Hard  metal  inkstands  with  candlesticks  are  advertised  in 
1750;  large  and  small  pewter  standishes  in  1759;  glass 
ink  pots  with  brass  tops,  ditto  for  sand,  1759;  brass  ink 
pots,  1761  ;  "ink  equipages  with  silver  plated  furniture 
for  the  nobility,  gentry,  public  officers,  etc.,  and  others  of 
inferior  size  and  quality  "  are  advertised  by  James  Riving- 
ton  in  1771  ;  and  japann'd,  brass,  leather  and  paper  ink- 
stands appear  in  1774.  Neat  red  and  blue  morocco  letter 
cases  with  locks  (1750);  red  leather  letter  cases;  beau- 
tiful red  and  blue  morocco  letter  cases  with  spring  locks  ; 
neat  shagreen  ink  horns ;  ivory  and  tortoise-shell  mem- 
orandum books  (1761);  fountain  pens;  cedar  pencils 
(1750);  sealing-wax,  and  quills;  vermilion  and  common 
wafers  (1759);  ivory  paper-cutters  (1761);  lignum  vita3 
rulers ;  letter  scales ;  black  lead  pencils  with  steel  cases  for 
the  same;  ink-powder  (1762);  wafers,  black  and  red; 
gilt  message  cards ;  and  letter  files  (1765).  Ivory,  tortoise- 
shell,  shagreen  and  pear-tree  memorandum  books  are  also 
advertised.      Ladies'  memorandum  blocks  occur  in  1764. 

Clockmakers  are  numerous,  John  Bell  advertises  in 
1734;  Aaron  Miller,  of  Elizabethtown,  in  1747;  and 
Thomas  Perry,  of  London,  in  Dock  Street,  and  "  Moses 
Clements  in  the  Broad-way,  New  York,"  in  1749. 

A  handsome  japanned  clock,  made  by  Allsop  of  Lon- 
don, appears  facing  this  page.  It  has  always  been  in  the 
Bleecker    family,  and    descended    from    Garrit    Van    Sant 

30Z 


''  •  ?" 


r  ^. 

> 

• 

pC^l^H 

i: 

mM 

f 

i^^BSk^-  H£l 

W 

^1 

EiX 

/i 

v^m 

u       i 


JAPANNED  CLOCK 

Bf longing  to  the  lilffchfr  family,  fio*c  in  the 

house  oj  Mrs.  F.  Ten  Eyck,  Albany. 

See  page  302. 


FRISIAN  CLOCK 
Owned  by  the  Rev.  John  van  Burk,  of  Johns- 
ton, N.  Y'.     See  page  244. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Bleecker,  of  Albany,  to  one  of  his  daughters.  It  is  now 
in  the  home  of  Mrs.  J.  Ten  Eyck,  Albany. 

"  Clock  case  cupboards "  are  brought  over  by  the 
Batchelor^  1751  ;  Samuel  Bowne,  Burling-Slip,  has  some 
"japanned  and  walnut-cased  clocks,"  1751  ;  Dirck  Brinck- 
erhoff  is  at  the  Sign  of  the  Golden  Lock,  in  Dock  Street ; 
**  Uriah  Hendricks,  at  his  store  next  door  to  the  Sign  of  the 
Golden  Key  in  Hanover  Square  ( 1 756),  has  imported  **  two 
fine  repeating  eight  day  clocks,  which  strike  every  half  hour 
and  repeat";  Thomas  Perry,  watchmaker,  from  London, 
**  in  Hanover  Square,  makes  and  cleans  all  sorts  of  clocks 
and  watches."  "  He  will  import,  if  bespoke,  good  war- 
ranted clocks  at  >f  14,  they  paying  freight  and  insurance, 
and  clocks  without  cases  for  £\oy      (1756.) 

George  Chester,  from  London,  opens  a  shop  at  the 
Sign  of  the  Dial,  on  the  new  Dock;  and  Garden  Proctor 
mends  and  cleans  musical,  repeating,  chimney  and  plain 
clocks  in  1757  ;  Abraham  Brasher,  of  Wall  Street  ( 1757)  ; 
Solomon  Marache,  opposite  the  Fort ;  John  Est,  at  the 
Dial  and  Time  in  Broadway  ;  and  Thomas  Gordon,  from 
London,  opposite  the  Merchants'  Coffee  House  (1759)  sell 
various  kinds  of  timepieces.  Edward  Agar,  in  Beaver 
Street,  brings  from  London  "  a  very  neat  table  clock  which 
repeats  the  quarters  on  six  bells"  (1761);  Joseph  Clarke 
imports  from  London  some  **  exceedingly  good  eight-day 
clocks  in  very  neat  mahogany  cases,"  and  two  dials,  **  one 
in  a  covered  gilt  frame  large  enough  for  a  church  or  a 
gentleman's  house."      (1768.) 

In  1 768,  John  Sebastian  Stephany,  Chymist,  has  "  for 
sale  for  cash  a  new  and  ingenious  Clock  Work,  just  im- 
ported from  Germany,  and  made  there  by  one  of  the  most 
ingenious  and  celebrated   Clock-makers  in  Germany.      It 

303 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

plays  nine  different  selected  musical  tunes,  and  every  one 
as  exact  as  can  be  done  on  the  best  musical  instrument ; 
and  changes  its  music  every  hour.  It  is  done  with  i  i 
clocks  and  22  hammers.  It  has  an  ingenious  striking  work 
for  every  hour  and  quarter  of  an  hour  ;  it  repeats  8  Days, 
Hours,  and  Minutes  and  shows  the  Month,  and  Days  of 
the  Month." 

"  At  the  Sign  of  the  Clock  and  Two  Watches,  oppo- 
site to  Mr.  Roorback's  at  the  Fly  Market  is  made  and  re- 
paired at  reasonable  Rates,  Clocks  and  Watches ;  will  keep 
in  Repair  by  the  Year,  Clocks  plain  or  musical ;  .  .  .  . 
China  is  also  rivited  at  the  said  Shop  three  different  ways 
and  ornamented  with  Birds,  Beasts,  Fish,  Flowers,  or 
Pieces  of  Masonry  by  a  curious  and  skilful  Workman." 
(1769.) 

Isaac  Heron  (1770),  watchmaker,  facing  the  Coffee 
House  Bridge,  has  "  a  musical  clock  noble  and  elegant 
cost  in  England  ^80,"  and  "  a  neat  and  extraordinary 
good  chamber  Repeating  Clock." 

Stephen  Sands,  1772,  William  Pearson,  jr.,  and  Will- 
iam Kumbel,  1775,  were  also  in  this  business.  The  two 
bracket  or  pedestal  clocks  of  the  period  represented  on 
page  305  are  owned  by  Gen.  J.  Watts  de  Peyster  of  New 
York.  The  one  to  the  left  was  long  in  the  Broadway 
home  of  the  Watts  family  ;  the  second  one,  with  chimes, 
belonged  to  the  de  Peysters  and  bears  the  name  of  Robert 
Henderson,  who  made  clocks  at  St.  Martin's  Court,  Lon- 
don, in  1772,  and  at  18  Bridgewater  Square  in  i8oo-'5. 
The  names  of  the  tunes  are  engraved  above  the  dial  and 
include  the  March  from  Scipio,  Sukey  Bids  Me,  and  Miss 
Fox's  Minuet. 

Music  was  by  no  means  neglected  in  New  York,  and 

304 


THE  FURNITURE  OP^  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


-^■•i 

^ 


CLOCKS 
Owned  by  Gen.  J.  Watts  dc  Pcyrter,  New  York.      See  page  304. 

competent  teachers  were  not  lacking.  In  1750,  six  very 
fine  violins  and  some  German  flutes  are  for  sale;  in  1757, 
a  good  English  spinet  and  some  flutes.  In  1759,  a  gen- 
tleman has  a  lot  of  musical  goods  imported  from  Naples 
and  London,  including  two  good  violins,  a  girl's  six- 
stringed  bass  viol ;  "  exceeding  good  German  Flutes  for 
three  Dollars,  each  ;  likewise  others  with  2,  3,  4,  or  5 
middle  Pieces  to  change  the  Tones  and  Voice  do.  Like- 
wise Bass,  viol  Strings  of  all  Sizes,  and  silvered  Ones  for 
Basses,  Violins  and  Tenors.  A  great  Collection  of  Wrote 
and  Printed  Music  from  Italy  and  England." 

James  Rivington,  Hanover  Square,  has  in  1760  "  Fid- 
dles with  Bows  or  Fiddle-Sticks,  Mutes,  Bridges  and  Screw 

30  s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Pins,  German  Flutes,  common  Flutes,  Fifes,  Pitch  Pipes, 
Hautboy  Reeds,  Bassoon  Reeds,  and  mouth-pieces  for 
French  horns.  ist,  2d,  3d  and  4th  Fiddle  Strings,  very 
excellent;  ditto  Blue,  for  Basses;"  also  a  lot  of  Music 
Books. 

Other  instruments  on  sale  include :  a  "  harpsichord 
with  three  stops,"  1758  ;  **  a  complete  set  of  bagpipes  /'4," 
1 760  ;  **  a  chamber  organ,  with  5  stops,  silvered  pipes,  case 
9  feet  high  and  6  feet  wide,  new  bellows,  and  good  in  con- 
dition, ^60  New  York  currency,  scarce  a  quarter  of  the 
sum  which  a  new  organ  will  cost,"  1762  ;  violins  in  cases, 
German  flutes,  **  speckled  screw  bows,"  "  a  violoncello 
and  case"  and  **  an  excellent  bassoon  with  reeds,"  1764; 
"  two  very  fine  handorgans,  one  with  four  barrels  and  the 
other  with  two  barrels,"  1767;  **  a  new  chamber  organ 
of  six  stops  and  neat  gilt  front,"  1768  ;  "a  very  fine  tone 
harpsichord  and  a  forte  piano,"  1770.  John  Shimble, 
"  organ  builder  from  Philadelphia  makes  and  repairs  all 
kinds  of  organs  harpsichords  spinnets  and  pianos,"  1772. 

A  parlour  organ  of  the  period  shown  on  page  307  be- 
longed to  Anthony  Duane,  an  officer  in  the  English  navy. 
It  descended  to  his  son  James  Duane,  first  Mayor  of  New 
York  under  the  new  government,  and  from  the  latter's 
youngest  daughter,  Catharine  Livingston  Duane,  to  James 
Duane  Featherstonhaugh.  It  is  now  owned  by  Mr. 
George  W.  Featherstonhaugh,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  The 
organ  is  fifty-two  inches  high  and  twenty-six  inches  wide. 
It  is  made  of  mahogany.  The  wind  is  supplied  by  a  bel- 
lows worked  by  a  crank.  The  keys  are  lifted  by  wire 
elevations  on  a  revolving  barrel.  The  organ  contains  five 
barrels,  playing  ten  tunes  each.      All  the  tunes  are  English. 

The    card   table  on   page   309   belongs  to   Miss  Anna 

306 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Vandenberg,  of  Albany.  It  was  owned  by  the  Lush 
family,  and  is  somewhat  unusual  in  having  five  legs. 
Games  were  no  less  popular  in  New  York  than  in  the 
Southern  cities  and  plantations. 


PARLOUR   ORGAN 
Owncv  by  Anthony  Duinc,  noM  by  Mr.  Ucurgc  W.  Keathmtonhaugh,  Schenectady.      See  page  }o6. 


The  **  best  playing  cards  "  are  advertised  among  the 
importations  of  i  749  ;  battledores,  1751;  "  quadrille  boxes 
for  the  fashionable  game,"  1761;  "Henry  VIII.  and 
Highland  playing-cards,"  1 76 1  ;  "Merry  Andrew  and 
Highland    playing    cards"    and    "Great    Mogul    playing 

307 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

cards,"  1764;  backgammon  tables  and  drum  battledores 
and  shuttlecocks  and  **  backgammon  tables  lined  to  pre- 
vent the  odious  sound  of  the  boxes,"  1 764  ;  chess,  draft 
and  cribbage  boards,  with  men,  dice  and  boxes,  1771  ; 
**  quadrille  pools,"  1772;  "paper  and  japanned  quadrille 
pools,  and  pearl  and  ivory  fish  and  counters,"   1773. 

Children's  toys  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  impor- 
tations :  the  Charmmg  Rachel  brings  '*  all  sorts  of  children's 
toys,"  1752  ;  "boxes  of  household  furniture  for  children" 
occur  in  1759  ;  and  "a  large  quantity  of  Dutch  and  Eng- 
lish toys  "  in  1767. 

The  ladies  of  the  period  were  accomplished  in  needle- 
work, and  that  they  made  various  ornaments  for  their 
homes  is  evident  from  advertisements  for  teaching  the 
fashionable  decorative  arts  of  the  day.      One  in  1731  is: 

"  Martha  Gazley,  late  from  Great  Britain,  now  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  Makes  and  Teaches  the  following  curi- 
ous Works,  viz.  Artificial  Fruits  and  Flowers  and  other 
Wax-Work,  Nuns-Work,  Philligree  and  Pencil  Work  upon 
Muslin,  all  sorts  of  Needle-Work  and  Raising  of  Paste,  as 
also  to  Paint  upon  Glass,  and  Transparent  for  Sconces, 
with  other  Works.  If  any  young  Gentlewomen,  or  oth- 
ers, are  inclined  to  learn  any  or  all  of  the  above  mentioned 
curious  Works,  they  may  be  carefully  taught  and  instructed 
in  the  same  by  the  said  Martha  Gazley  at  present  at  the 
Widdow  Butlers,  near  the  Queen's  head  Tavern,  in  Will- 
iam Street,  not  far  from  Captain  Anthony  Rutgers." 

In  I  76 1,  the  wife  of  John  Haugan,  at  the  Horse  and 
Cart  Street,  advertises  that  she  "  stamps  linen  China  blue 
or  deep  blue,  or  any  other  colour  that  Gentlemen  and  La- 
dies fancies.      Bed  sprays.  Women's  Gowns." 

In   1769,  "Clementina  and  Jane  Fergusson  intend  re- 

308 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


MAHOGANY   CARD   TABLE    AND   CHAIR 
Owned  by  Miss  Anna  Vandenberg,  Albany.      See  page  306. 

moving  their  school  the  first  of  May  next  to  Bayard  Street, 
opposite  the  house  of  John  Livingston,  Esq.,  where  they 
will  continue  to  teach  reading,  writing,  plain  needlework, 
sampler,  crowning,  Dresden  catgut :  shading  in  silk  on 
Holland  or  camhrick  and  in  silk  or  worsted  on  canvas; 
as  also  all  sorts  of  needlework  in  use  for  dress  or  furni- 
ture." 

In  1773,  Mrs.  Cole,  from  London,  teaches  ladies 
"  tamhour-work  and  embroidery  "  ;  and  in  the  same  year 
William  and  Sarah  Long,  from  London,  teach  "Tambour 
work  in  gold,  silver,  and  cotton." 

In  1774,  Mrs.  Bclton,  who  has  a  French  and  English 
school,  teaches  **  tapestry,  embroidery,  catgut,  sprigging 
of  muslin,"  etc.,  etc. 

A  specimen  of  the  handiwork  of  the  period  is  shown 

309 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

on  page  311.  This  is  a  screen  worked  in  1 776,  and 
owned  by  Mrs.  Edward  Rankin  at  the  Van  Rensselaer 
house,  Cherry  Hill,  Albany.  The  standard  is  mahogany 
with  "  snake  "  feet. 

Among  the  importations,  "  catgut  gauze,"  **  catgut 
silk  "  and  **  drawn  catgut  "  frequently  occur.  We  also 
find  **  cruels  sorted  in  shades,"  1752;  "  ivory  shuttles  for 
knotting  fringe,"  1 752  ;  ladies  **  knitting  and  work  boxes," 
1 794  ;  "  coarse  and  fine  yellow  canvass  for  work  or  win- 
dow blinds,"  1771  ;  and  tambour  cases  and  needles,  1774. 

The  looking-glass  was  very  important  at  all  periods. 
In  1730,  James  Foddy  from  London  undertook  "to 
alter  and  amend  old  looking  glasses,"  and  it  would  ap- 
pear from  the  constant  advertisements  that  there  was  a 
great  demand  for  looking-glasses  of  the  newest  fashion. 
The  large  pier  glass  with  its  carved  frame,  a  glass  over 
the  mantel-piece  and  convex  mirrors  with  sconces  on 
either  side  were  common  ornaments  of  the  drawing-room. 

**  New  fashion  sconces  and  looking-glasses"  are  constantly 
appearing  among  the  importations  from  1749  onward.  From 
about  1752,  they  are  carved  and  gilt;  "a  variety  of  sconces 
with  branches  in  wallnut  frames  with  gilt  edges,"  are  offered 
in  1757  ;  pier  glasses  of  all  sizes  are  favourite  importations; 
and  convex  lenses  and  concave  mirrors,  1 764  ;  "  two  carved 
white  framed  sconce  glasses  and  one  mahogany  ditto," 
1768;  oval  sconces  with  gilt  frames,  1773;  "looking 
glasses  the  most  fashionable,  neat  and  elegant  ever  im- 
ported into  this  city,  oval  glasses,  pier  do.  and  sconces  in 
burnish'd  gold,  glass  border'd,  mahogany  and  black  walnut 
frames  with  gilt  ornaments  of  all  sizes;  likewise  some 
elegant  gerandoles,"  1774,  framed  mahogany  and  black 
walnut,  square    and   oval    sconces,  glasses   and   girandoles, 

310 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

1775.  Handsome  dressing- 
glasses  are  constantly  being 
offered  for  sale;  sometimes 
these  are  gilt,  sometimes  ja- 
panned, sometimes  black  wal- 
nut, and  frequently  they  are 
furnished  with  sconces. 

Lamps  and  lanterns  were 
imported  in  considerable  vari- 
ety :  the  entries  and  halls  were 
lighted  by  square  and  spherical 
lanterns.  The  standard  sizes 
were  18  x  14  inches,  16  x  12, 
lox  14,  9x4,8x4  and  7x4. 
A  few  of  the  announcements 
are  as  follows:  tine  large  lamps 
at  twenty  shillings  apiece,  1752; 
barrel  and  bell  glass  lanthorns 
for  entries,  1753;  g^^ss  lamps 
and  chamber  lamps,  1759; 
horns  for  lanterns,  1759; 
pocket  lanterns,  1761;  glass 
lamps  for  halls,  1 76 1  ;  glass, 
tin,  and  horn  lanterns,  1763; 
square  and  globe  lanterns  for 
halls  and  staircases,  i  764  ;  large 
glass  lanterns  and  chamber 
lamps,  1765;  "lamps  of  the 
newest  patterns,  very  useful  for  sick  persons,"  1770;  and 
**  square  glass  and  globe  lanthorns  and  chamber  lamps," 
1771. 

Candlesticks  of  all   kinds  were   made   here  as  well  as 


SCREEN  WORKED  IN    1 776 

Owned  by  Mri.  EtlwarJ  Rankin,  Albany. 

See  p«ge  310. 


1'« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

imported.  Among  the  kinds  in  demand  we  note:  brass 
ball  iron  candlesticks,  **  some  curious  four  armed  cut  glass 
candlesticks  ornamented  with  stars  and  drops,  properly 
called  girandoles,"  1762;  brass  snuffer  dishes,  1764;  **  en- 
amel'd  and  japan'd  candlesticks  for  toilets  and  tea-tables  " 
and  "candle  shade  slyders"  1765;  **  Japanned  and  Ponti- 
pool  table  and  chamber  candlesticks,"  1768;  "iron  and 
japann'd  candlesticks,  1773;  red,  green,  gilt,  and  black 
japanned  candlesticks,  with  snuffers  and  extinguishers, 
1773  ;  candle  frames  and  screens,  with  japanned  and  skin 
cases,  1774;   and  candle  screens,  1776. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FOREiFATHERS 


SIX-LEGGED    HIGH    CASE    OF    DRAWERS 

Onvaed  by  Mr.  George  Dudley  Sejmour,  Nenu  Havea,  Conn.     See  page  j^j. 


THE   FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CKITICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGlS 


ILLUSTRATED 


u:~ 


\'.W<\    \ 


X 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE   &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,    I9OI,   BY 
DOUBLEDAY,    PAGE    &     CO. 


OCTOBER,    I9OI 


CONTENTS 


Essex  County  Joiners  and  Cabine t-Makers     315-322 

Amount  of  home-made  furniture,  315;  names  of  cabinet- 
makers and  joiners,  316— 7;  contents  of  shops,  317-320;  Moll 
Pitcher's  table,  321. 


Sewall  Short's  Stock  .... 

The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables 
Furniture   I.mporied  and  Made  to  Order 
Judge  Sewali/s  Orders         .... 
Sir  William  Pepperell       .... 


.   322 
325-328 

•    329 

330-332 
332-334 


Extract  from  letter,  332;  carved  oak  chairs,  332-3;  home  of 
Elizabeth  Sparhawk,  334. 

Connecticut  Furniture       ....      334—340 

Old  styles,  334-5;  changes  in  chairs,  335;  woods  used,  336—7; 
styles  of  chairs,  337-9- 

Rhode  Island  Furniture     ....      340-344 

Estates,  340— I;  brass-ware,  341-2;  the  high  and  low  case  of 
drawers,  34^-3- 

Boston  Homes  (1700-1720)  .  .  .      344-371 

Katharine  Eyre,  346;  tables  and  chairs,  347;  John  Mico, 
350-2  ;  the  buffet,  352-4  ;  stoves  and  grates,  355;  the  man- 
telpiece, 356;  needlework,  357—8;  mirrors  and  picture- 
frames,  358-61;  tea-tables  and  china,  361-4;  black  chairs, 
365;  case  of  drawers,  366-8;  Japanned  ware,  368;  china  or- 
naments, 368  }  bureau,  369  ;  chest  of  drawers,  370. 


CONTENTS 

PACE 

Boston  Homes  (i 720-1 770)  .  .  .      372-388 

Captain  William  Taylor,  372-3;  Thomas  Hancock,  374—7; 
Mrs.  Mary  Blair,  378-80 ;  Peter  Faneuil,  380-5;  Nathaniel 
Rogers,  387-8. 


Cards  and  Card-Tables 

M  us  I C  A  L    In  ST  R  U  M  E  N  TS 


.    389 

389-390 


Boston  Cabine t-Makers      ....      390-400 

Immigrants,   390 ;  stocks  on   hand,  391-4;   timbers,  395-7; 
mounts,  399. 


)5^€J^ 


List  of  Illustrations 


WITH      CRITICAL      NOTES      ON      MANY     OF 
THE        PLATES        BV        RUSSELL        STURGIS 


ALL    THS    NOTES    rUKNISHBD    BY    MR.     tTUKGK 
ARE    rOLLUWED    BY     HIS    SIGNATURE. 


Six-Legged  High  Case  of  Drawers 


Frontispiece 


Tall-boy  in  which  the  chief  attraction  is  the  somewhat  rich  veneer  of  the  drawer  fironts. 
The  very  unusual  design  of  the  six  legs  and  the  odd  straining  pieces  between  them  may  also 
be  noticed. 

The  brge  flat  drawer  forming  the  lowermost  part  of  the  upper  halPof  this  tall-boy  can 
only  be  opened  by  pressure  from  below,  or  by  taking  out  one  of  the  other  drawers,  un- 
doubtedly the  large  one  immediately  above  it.  This  is  what  ladies  to-day  call  the  *'  slipper 
drawer,"  but  it  is  another  form  of  "  secret  drawer,"  which  drawers,  indeed,  are  sel- 
dom much  more  secret  than  this  one.  They  serve  as  nothing  more  unusually  secure 
than  merely  to  balfle  ordinary  curiosity.  Some  such  tall-boys  have  a  large  and  shallow 
drawer  in  the  cornice,  the  mouldings  of  which  pass  through  the  drawer-^nt  itself,  and 
such  drawere  are  excellent  for  papere — for  a  map,  a  print  or  two,  for  anything,  in  short, 
that  is  better  left  flat  without  being  folded. 

A  certain  well-known  professor  of  Yale  College — for  he  did  not  live  to  see  and  to  use 
the  title  Yale  University,  however  much  the  thing  itself  may  have  existed  in  his  time — 
made  for  himself  a  writing  table,  useful  and  even  comely,  by  taking  apart  a  tall-boy  not 
wholly  unlike  that  shown  in  the  frontispiece  and  having  a  panelled  and  cloth-covered  tup 
made  to  stretch  from  one  to  the  other  of  these  parts.  That  incident  merely  illustrates 
the  pooibilit)-  and  the  frequency  of  such  changes  in  the  arrangement  of  those  valuable 
pieces  of  furniture.  In  this  case  the  upper  part  of  the  supposed  tall-boy  may  have  been 
still  for  use  in  a  nursery  while  the  kiwer  part  passed  as  a  low-boy  in  a  spare  room.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Kitchen  in  the  Rooms  of  the  Concord  Antiquar- 
ian Society       ....  facing 

The  room  itself  shows  little  of  its  original  character  except  in  the  girders  of  the  ceiling,  the 
opening  of  the  firepbce  and  the  oven,  of  which  the  door  and  the  mouth  of  the  ash-pit  are 
seen  on  the  left  of  the  fireplace.  There  are  a  number  of  interesting  utensils  in  the  room; 
a  lantern  of  pierced  sheet  metal,  like  one  which  is  to  be  seen  in  the  illustration  page  351, 
and  a  leather  fire-bucket — both  of  these  hanging  firom  the  girder  above  ;  a  good  spinning 
wheel  at  the  left  hand  with  more  than  the  usual  refinement  in  the  way  of  moulded  and 
turned  work,  and  on  the  right,  a  winder  for  skeins  of  yam.  The  rocking-chair  is  a 
piece  uf  domestic  or  at  least  of  village  nunufacture,  and  its  heavy  and  simple  make  aHFords 
an  intercbting  contrast  to  the  more  delicately  finished  city  made  pieces.  There  are  also 
twu  very  plain  settles,  but  these  perhaps  uf  later  date  as  they  are  made  of  sawed  and  pbin 
boards.  Hardly  greater  refinement  of  finish  marks  the  case  of  drawers  on  the  right  in  which 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  imitate  some  of  the  decorative  effects  of  the  mure  ebborate  low- 
boys uf  which  there  are  several  illustrated  in  this  Part ;  see  pages  326,  342  and  others. 
Hand-made  tools  are  shown  in  abundance,  hanging  along  the  front  of  the  mantel  or  set 
upon  the  shelf;  such  are  the  broadaxe  of  which  the  handle  has  been  sawed  off,  and  the 
hammer  wrought  out  of  thin  iron  and  fitted  tu  a  wooden  frame  which  is  seen  further  to  the 
right,  as  well  as  the  admirable  and  interesting  spring  tongs  of  which  there  are  two  pairs, 
the  forks  for  meat,  and  the  bundle  of  skewers  and  the  steelyard  on  the  extreme  left.      A 


.vs 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACT 

hand-wrought  pick-axe  leans  against  the  base  of  the  spinning  wheel.  There  are  candle- 
sticks on  the  mantel-shelf,  and  one  of  them  has  a  candle  set  upon  it  which  b  clearly  too 
large  for  it,  and  this  utensil  may  be  thought  to  be,  if  not  a  rush-light  holder  (and  it  is 
scarcely  long  enough  for  that),  then  a  holder  fur  the  ordinary  dipped  candle  of  the  house- 
hold, which  was  generally  much  more  slender  than  our  modem  factory-made  pieces. 
There  is  a  tin  horn — the  dinner-horn  of  the  poems  and  legends — standing  on  its  bell  with 
a  tag  or  label  hanging  to  its  mouth-piece.  A  home-made  boo^ack  reminds  us  of  the  days 
when  there  were  worn  what  are  now  called  long  boots,  things  which  vanished  from 
the  city  life  in  western  Europe  fifty  years  ago,  which  lingered  in  the  eastern  cities  of 
America  until  1870,  and  which  have  now  "gone  West"  or  to  the  open  country.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Two   Mahogany  Tables.     Small    Round  Table. 

Moll  Pitcher's  Table      .  .  facing   318 

Oval  table  with  adjustable  top  ;  middle  or  close  of  eighteenth  century.  The  veneering  of 
the  top  is  the  chief  decorative  effect  sought  in  this  table,  but  the  standard  and  the  tripod  of 
its  base  are  that  which  interest  the  student  the  most  and  are  to  be  compared  with  the  simi- 
lar features  in  other  tables  on  the  same  plate.  The  framing  of  the  spreading  branches  of 
this  tripod  into  the  central  upright  piece  is  unworkmanlike  in  that  the  strain  is  brought  on 
the  tenons,  if  there  are  any,  sidewisc;  while  the  actual  stress  is  generally  taken  up  by  the 
friction  of  the  parts  assisted  by  glue.  This  is,  indeed,  poor  construction  but  admissible  in 
pieces  so  small  that  without  cost  or  labor  the  parts  taking  the  strain  can  be  enlarged  pro- 
portionally; and  it  is  this  device  which  has  been  resorted  to  in  the  present  case  with  great 
ingenuity  and  good  taste.  The  necessity  of  making  the  spreading  pieces  very  wide  at  their 
points  of  junction  with  the  standard  has  been  the  excuse  for  very  graceful  combinations  of 
curvature. 

Table  in  all  respects  similar  to  the  above  except  that  it  is  somewhat  more  elaborate, 
having  a  moulded  edge  and  more  finely-worked  standard.  What  was  said  about  the  con- 
struction of  the  above  applies  in  all  respects  to  this.  The  reader  may  note  very  slight  dif- 
ferences of  design  in  the  profiling  and  champfering  of  the  under  side  of  these  two  tables — 
the  points  of  junction  between  the  spreading  feet  and  the  standard  in  the  following  offers  a 
third  treatment  of  the  same  detail. 

Table  like  those  above,  but  with  the  top  of  solid  woodwork  with  the  whole  surface 
lowered  so  as  to  leave  a  permanent  moulding  worked  out  of  the  solid  around  the  edge  and 
having  a  tripod  base  carved  with  some  elaboration.  The  fency  for  a  rim  around  the  edge 
of  a  table  was  very  strong  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  and  lasted  a  long 
time.  The  absence  of  the  device  in  the  nineteenth  century  can  hardly  be  explained  except 
by  the  rapid  abandonment  of  working  in  the  solid  wood.  Every  cabinet-maker  would  per- 
ceive the  feebleness  of  a  pbnted  molding  carried  around  curves — such  a  thing  would  hardly 
meet  the  requirements  of  even  the  most  reckless  workmen.  Perhaps  the  general  demand 
for  tablecloths  of  decorative  intent  may  have  had  to  do  with  the  abandonment  of  this  very 
useful  feature. 

The  carving  is  of  the  formal  sort  and  adds  nothing  to  our  already  gained  knowledge  of 
such  work. 

What  is  noticeable,  however,  is  the  slight  differences  which,  in  these  three  tripod 
standards,  give  variety  of  design.  It  b  in  this  way  that  all  the  fine  designing  of  thb  world, 
at  least  as  applied  to  the  simple  objects  of  daily  life,  has  been  achieved.  The  artist  is 
satisfied  to  take  a  well-known  type  and  then  to  treat  it,  in  detail,  according  to  his  own 
lights. 

Round  table  like  in  most  respects  to  that  on  page  379  and  shown  firom  another  point  of 
view,  that  b,  with  the  hinged  joints  of  the  leaves  plainly  visible  and  the  resulting  clumsy 
look  of  the  four  legs  fully  revealed.  A  table  seen  in  this  way  b  a  dblocated-looking 
thing  and  requires  its  concealing  cloth.      R.  Sturgb. 

Leather  Chairs  and  Bellows      .  .  .  -318 

These  are  interesting  examples  of  native  workmanship  of  the  early  eighteenth  century, 
having  been  made  by  the  Rev.  Theophilus  Pickering  in  1 724.  This  model  had  already 
been  in  use  abroad  for  many  years.      It  occurs  in  pictures  by  contemporary  artbts.      E.  S. 

Old  Green  Painted  and  Rush-Bottom  Chair      .321 

This  b  a  somewhat  unusual  variety  of  the  four-back  chair.  It  was  probably  intended  for 
an  invalid.      £.  S. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Gilt  Mirror  and  Mahogany  Dressing-Table, 

FACING  319 

Dressing-Table   with    Drawers,    and   Japanned 

Dressing-Glass  .  .  .  facing   326 

Low-boy  of  a  little  more  variety  of  design  than  is  shown  on  page  364.  The  original 
scheme  probably  included  the  further  adornment  in  the  shape  of  two  turned  pendants  of 
some  kind  prajecdng  downward,  one  on  each  side  of  the  middle  drawer  ( see  page  343  )  ■  In 
this  piece,  as  in  that  on  page  367,  the  good  ancient  custom  of  drawers  with  fronts  pro- 
jecting beyond  and  lapping  over  the  divisions  between  the  drawer-spaces  is  maintained. 
The  handles  are  apparently  original,  and  are  of  somewhat  unusual  merit ;  they  are  at  least 
more  massive  than  is  custonury. 

The  dressing-glass,  with  its  standard  and  drawers  to  hold  toilet  articles,  has  been  bcquered 
in  partial  imitation  of  Japanese  work,  and  this  fact  would  seem  to  connect  it  with  the  Neth- 
erbnds — it  can  hardly  be  an  English  piece.  It  appears  that  the  basement  or  lowermost 
member  of  thb  piece  b  inlaid,  and  if  this  is  so  the  piece  is  almost  certainly  Dutch.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Field-Bed  ......   327 

A  good  four-poster  bedstead  of  about  1810.  It  b  assumed  that  they  will  never  come  in 
again,  the  four-post  bedsteads,  because  the  houses  of  the  future  will  be  warmed  and  closed, 
and  the  curtains  will  not  be  asked  fur ;  and  yet  one  who  loves  fresh  air  has  an  even 
more  lively  current  from  hb  open  windows  the  warmer  hb  room  b  with  the  heat  of  a  fire. 
What  then  do  we  of  the  twentieth  century  put  between  our  sleeping-place  and  the  open 
«rindows  *  A  folding  screen,  usually  Japanese  because  that  b  cheaper,  or  of  stamped  and 
coloured  leather,  or  even  of  highly-wrought  cabinet  work  with  paintings  in  Vemb  Martin 
if  we  are  millionaires.  Is  it  now  certain  that  we  have  done  wisely  ?  Is  there  not  some- 
thing to  be  said  for  the  bed-curtains  ?  We  are  not  obliged  to  draw  them  all  four  and  shut 
ourselves  up  as  our  ancestors  did  in  a  nearly  air-tight  box  with  only  1 80  cubic  feet  of  air  for 
perhaps  two  pair  of  lungs. 

The  four  high  poets  might  be  accommodated  to  the  much  lower  frame  of  the  modem 
bedstead,  with  its  broad  raib  intended  to  contain  and  conceal  the  thick  spring  mattress  of 
the  day.  The  dilferentianon  brought  about  by  thb  total  change  in  the  proportions  of  your 
post  would  be  an  attractive  thing  to  work  over  and  to  work  out.  Four  such  posts  carry- 
ing four  raib  with  a  head-board  above  one  of  them  might  then  have  a  tester  of  any,  even 
the  most  magnificent  textile  ^bric,  or  of  embossed  and  gilded  leather,  and  the  curtain 
might  hang  on  one  side,  or  on  one  side  and  the  foot — for  a  greater  or  a  less  part  of  the 
space  turned  toward  the  draft  of  outer  air.  Enough  said-  —let  the  next  family  taking  new 
quarters,  if  those  quarters  are  not  too  utterly  inadequate  as  to  space,  consider  the  questioa 
whether  a  four-post  bedstead  would  not  be  a  glorious  revival  in  the  form  suggested  above. 

The  dimity  valance  of  the  tester  b  delightful:  and  still  more  attractive  would  be  the 
counterpane,  if  we  could  make  out  the  needlework  which  adorns  it.      R.  Sturgb. 

Mahogany  Low  Case  of   Drawers  and  Mahog- 
any Looking-Glass    .  .  .  .  -331 

A  low-boy  of  considerable  elegance  elaborately  carved  on  the  legs  and  in  the  shell-pattern 
recess  in  the  middle,  and  with  unusually  massive  brass  handles.  The  peculiar  bulging  front 
of  the  drawers  will  be  found  repeated  in  the  tall-boys  of  the  time  and  in  such  desks  and 
bookcases  as  on  pages  facing  340  and  374.  Thb  epoch  b  about  1750.  At  that  time 
there  had  already  appeared  in  France  the  reaction  against  the  somewhat  extravagant  shap- 
ing of  the  parts,  in  architecture  and  in  furniture;  a  reaction  which  ended  in  what  we 
know  as  the  Style  Louii  Seize,  but  it  took  time  for  such  influences  to  cross  the  channel 
and  a  still  longer  time  for  them  to  pass  the  ocean  from  Bristol  or  Plymouth  to  Massachu- 
setts Bay. 

The  very  large  and  elaborate  tall-boy,  which  b  partly  seen  in  thb  photograph,  b  evi- 
dently a  piece  of  very  great  interest.      R.  Sturgis. 

Carved  Oak.  Chairs     ......   333 

Two  chairs  canred  ia  solid  oak  and  probably  of  the  clodng  years  of  the  seventeenth  cco- 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

TACt 

txiry.  Their  historical  record  does  not  seem  to  be  traceable  from  so  early  a  period,  but 
they  have  all  the  marks  of  English  work  of  the  time  of  James  II.  The  cane  backs  are  un- 
doubtedly contemporaneous  and  are  not  the  least  precious  part  of  this  most  interesting  brace 
of  chairs;  the  leather-covered  seats  are,  of  course,  recent.      R.  Sturgis. 

Crown-back  Chair       ......   337 

One  chair,  thought  to  be  Dutch  and  probably  of  about  1715.  The  heavier  bandy-legged 
form  is  generally  associated  with  the  Netherlands;  the  most  interesting  stretching-pieces 
are,  however,  the  attractive  feature  in  the  chair  now  under  consideration;  it  is  very  unusual 
to  see  so  bold  a  treatment  of  that  important  part  of  the  fi-ame.  The  student  of  such  things 
should  note  carefully  the  singular  independence  of  the  workman  who  has  put  his  transverse 
piece  as  hr  forward  as  he  could  without  incommoding  the  sitter,  whose  heels  would  strike 
them  if  they  were  further  advanced.  This  bit  of  designing  has  carried  with  it  a  singular 
lack  of  ordinary  cheap  symmetry;  and  the  pieces  are  all  the  better  for  that.      R.  Sturgis. 

Low  Case  of  Drawers  or  Dressing-Table  (Dark 

Cherry)     .......   339 

Mahogany  Desk  ....  facing    327 

A  vniting-desk  similar  in  its  distribution  to  that  &cing  page  376,  but  far  more  elaborate. 
This  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  best  designed  pieces  of  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
that  one  will  be  apt  to  see,  and  it  is,  fortunately,  in  perfect  order.  It  is  stated  to  be  of 
mahogany,  and  if  entirely  made  of  that  wood  is  a  rare  specimen.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Table  and  Chair        .  .  .  ,   341 

Table  with  dropping  leaves  which,  when  open,  are  supported  by  two  of  the  four  legs.  Ta- 
bles facing  318  and  on  page  379  will  be  found  to  offer  alternative  forms  of  the  same  gen- 
eral plan.  The  people  of  the  eighteenth  century,  less  harassed  than  their  successors  by 
carpets  covering  the  whole  floor  or  by  rugs  always  in  the  way,  found  little  difficulty  in 
revolving  the  whole  of  one-quarter  part,  leg  and  all,  of  their  table  frame.  It  was  curious 
to  see  how  with  the  appearance  of  carpeting  in  common  use  to  cover  the  previously  naked 
floors  this  strenuous  and  satisfactory  plan  was  abandoned  for  the  feeble  bracket  no  deeper 
than  the  top  rail  of  the  frame  and  supported  by  inadequate  hinges.      R.  Sturgis. 

Low  Case  of  Drawers  .....   343 

A  low-boy  to  be  compared  with  those  facing  page  326  and  on  page  367,  and  equally  with 
the  first  of  those  showing  some  evidence  of  having  served  as  part  of  a  tall-boy.  It  is  not 
asserted,  however,  that  such  pieces  were  never  or  even  very  seldom  made  separately. 
The  records  seem  to  ^il  us,  for  the  gossiping  chat  about  such  things  which  is  common  in 
our  good  old  ^milies  has  seldom  any  basis  beyond  the  narrator's  own  childish  experience. 
It  has  sometimes  seemed  possible  that  pieces  of  furniture  made  for  a  special  household  would 
have  the  upper  members  of  the  tall-boys  adjustable  to  one  or  more  table-like  lower  parts. 

The  use  of  the  carved  shell  for  the  front  of  the  lower  drawer  marks  a  distinct  step  for- 
ward in  attempted  adornment.  The  middle  recess  shown  in  those  facing  page  326,  and  on 
pages  331  and  343,  is  a  far-away  reminiscence  of  the  knee-place  in  a  writing-table,  and 
has  no  practical  excuse  in  the  pieces  of  furniture  we  are  considering  beyond  the  possible 
convenience  of  the  housewife  who  sits  down  to  look  at  the  contents  of  the  lower  drawers  ; 
while,  even  for  this  purpose,  the  distance  between  the  two  pendants  a  insufficient. 

This  piece  is  of  unusually  good  proportion — an  attractive  piece  of  furniture.      R.  Sturgis. 

Leather  Travelling  Trunk       .  .  facing  344 

Chest  of  drawers  covered  with  leather  and  adorned  with  broad-headed  nails.  Such  pieces 
are  generally  considered  travelling  chests,  but  this  is  extremely  doubtful,  as  there  is  never 
found  in  connection  with  them  any  provision  for  easy  transport.  The  Japanese  cabinets 
identified  as  intended  for  the  traveling  equipage  of  a  Daimio  under  the  old  regime  were 
fitted  with  the  most  ingenious  and  practically  useful  appliances  in  delicate  wrought  iron  for 
the  insertion  of  a  long  bearing-pole,  by  means  of  which  it  could  be  carried  as  a  palket  is 
carried,  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  The  modem  trunk  with  drawers  is  never  too  heavy  to 
be  tossed  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  stout  porter,  nor  too  bulky  for  the  baggage-car  or  the 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAOB 

fenrard  deck  of  a  itnmboat.  The  present  piece,  however,  if  it  b  as  it  appears,  three  feet 
high,  four  fieet  four  inche*  long  and  eighteen  inches  <ieep,  would  be  a  moat  formidable  chat- 
tel for  the  p*ck-hoise  or  even  the  horse-litter  or  even  the  carrier's  van. 

Reasons  are  given  in  previous  notes  to  illustrations  for  supponng  that  this  decoration 
by  means  of  leather  ( which  might  be  bright-colored  and  of  a  glossy  sur£ice,  and  with  brass 
nails)  was  a  fiivourite  alternative  for  veneer  and  vamish  and  for  pohrchromy.  In  &ct, 
it  was  in  a  sense  a  revival  or  survival  of  that  polychromatic  painting  which  we  have  found  to 
exist  not  infiwjuently  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  seventeenth  century.  These  considerations, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  extremely  elaborate  pierced  metal-woric  scutcheons  and  the 
fantastical  design  produced  by  the  nail-heads,  seem  to  give  to  the  leather  covering  decorative 
rather  than  a  utilitarian  purpose.  The  heavy  handles  at  the  end  arc  evidently  a  nine- 
teenth-century addition.     R.  Stutfis. 

Part  of  a  Six-Lecjged  High  Case  of  Drawers     .   345 
Rush-Bottom  Chair     ......   348 

The  chief  interest  in  this  chair  lies  in  the  fiict  that  it  manifestly  belongs  to  the  transitional 
period  between  the  seventeenth-century  and  eighteenth-century  styles.  It  has  an  odd  com- 
bination of  turned  legs  and  rail  together  with  the  feet  that  so  often  appear  on  the  carved- 
oak  cane  chain,  while  the  pierced  splat  and  bowed  top-bar  belong  to  the  new 
Khool.      E.  S. 

Hall  in  the  Warner  House         .         .  .  -35' 

Hall  of  a  house  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  which  are  seen  two  most  interesting 
half-round  tables  of  a  type  not  often  seen  even  in  fine  collections  of  eighteenth-century  fur- 
niture. The  lantern  of  pierced  thin  metal  with  added  ornaments  probably  soldered  to  the 
surface;  and  with  a  movable  bottom-piece  which  pulls  out  and  down  enabling  the  light  to 
be  cared  for  without  dbturbing  the  lantern  itself — thb  is  even  more  interesting  because  so 
nearly  unique.  People  fifty  years  old  will  sometimes  remember  the  pierced  tin  lanterns  of 
their  childhood  by  which  the  farmer  lighted  himself  in  the  stable,  the  light  shining  through 
perforations,  small  and  not  clean  cut,  having  indeed  the  partly  separated  pieces  of  dn  turned 
inward,  thus  preventing  the  wind,  even  of  a  sharp  storm,  from  blowing  out  the  candle.  Ex- 
quisite Japanese  pieces  of  the  same  device  on  the  same  plan  are  procurable,  but  the  idea  is 
ahrays  the  same,  that  as  glass  n  dear,  or  if  not  dear  is  easily  breakable,  the  solid  metal  ittelf 
Mbontebf  pierced  ajeur  is  the  best  substance  for  a  working  bntem. 

The  mysterious  effect  in  the  right-hand  lower  comer  is  produced  by  the  plain  top  nf  a 
heavy  table  which  conceals  the  lower  part  of  the  door  and  even  of  the  pilaster  on  the  right 
side  of  the  wooden  archway.      R.  Sturgis. 

"BeAUFAIT"  .....  FACING     345 

A  comer  cupboard  like  that  on  page  354  and  the  larger  one  page  363.  It  b  not  a  piece 
of  furniture,  but  a  part  of  the  decorative  interior  fitting  of  a  sitting-room  or  dining-room  ; 
a  niche,  and  iinbhed  as  a  niche  with  a  semi-dome  carved  into  a  Kalloped  shell  for  its  roof, 
aitd  shelves  following  the  curve  of  the  back.      R.  Sturgb. 

"Boufet"   from  the   Barton   Homestead,  Wor- 
cester       .......   354 

Thb  piece,  like  the  last  named,  b  architecturally  a  niche  having  for  plan  a  quarter  circle 
or  thereabout,  and  for  its  roof  a  shell-carved  semi-dome.      R.  Sturgb. 

Kitchen  in  the  Rooms  of  the  Concord  Antiquar- 
ian Society      .         .         .         .*         facing   354 

Thb  pbte  showrs  that  side  of  the  Concord  kitchen  which  b  opposite  the  fireplace  shown 
in  page  31$.  There  are  admirable  coppers  on  the  uppermost  shelf  of  the  dresser  and  long 
rows  of  pewter  plates  below  as  well  as  tin  coffee-pots  of  the  simplest  village  nunu^ture, 
and  movable  coffee-mill*.  There  is  a  salt  and  spice-box  for  the  bread-maker  and  for  the 
cook  generally  hung  between  the  dresser  and  the  door-piece.  That  which  is  most  attrac- 
tive in  the  photograph  b,    however,  the  uble   set  with   its  array  of  wooden  plates  and 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAGB 

wooden  dish,  wooden  spoons  and  what  is  probably  a  pewter  tankard.  These  wooden  plates 
are  not  trenchers  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word.  The  old  English  trencher  was  entirely 
flat  with  no  standing  rim  at  all  or  a  rim  a  quarter  of  an  inch  wide  and  rising  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  above  the  perfectly  flat  uniform  surface.  Those  on  this  table  seem  to  be  an  at- 
tempt to  hew  and  turn,  out  of  solid  wood,  plates  which  should  resemble  the  pewter  plates  of 
the  earlier  time,  or  the  "  Delft  "  plates  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  table  itself  is  an 
interesting  one  with  a  tripod  and  standard  of  very  good  form  and  design,  which  may  be 
compared  with  those  shown  at  page  318.      R.  Sturgis. 

Bedroo.m  in  Hancock-Clarke  House  facing   355 

The  excellent  bedstead  shown  in  this  room  may  be  compared  with  the  one  illustrated  on  page 
327.  The  valance  in  this  case  b  very  elaborate  ;  probably  of  silk  fitted  with  a  broad  pas- 
sementerie. A  comparison  of  the  bedposts  with  their  turning  and  carving  as  seen  in  the 
four  examples,  page  327,  page  372,  and  page  383,  and  the  present  one  affords  an  almost 
adequate  study  of  the  elaborate  fiimiture  of  the  years  between  1780  and  18 10.  In  the 
fireplace  of  this  room  there  are  some  very  interesting  andirons — for  this,  rather  than  fire- 
dogs,  was  what  our  New  England  ancestors  called  these  utensils.      R.  Sturgis. 

Two  Clocks         .....  facing   360 

The  tall  clock  b  a  beautiful  example  of  the  ornate  japanned  work  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. The  other  is  a  specimen  of  the  plain  native  work  made  for  the  poorer  classes.  It 
was  made  in  1767  by  Richard  Manning  of  Ipswich.      E.  S. 

Mahogany  and  Gilt  Mirror       ....   360 

Thi'  is  one  of  a  pair  of  mirrors  of  medium  size.  It  is  richly  carved  with  drapery  and 
floral  ibrms  and  the  gilding  produces  a  very  rich  effect.      E.  S. 

Buffet  ........   363 

Comer  cupboard:  but  not  in  the  sense  of  a  piece  of  furniture,  for  this  is  a  piece  of  the  in- 
terior fittings  of  an  old  house  with  just  such  "  trim  "  as  the  neighboring  door-pieces  would 
have  displayed.  It  is,  therefore,  hardly  to  be  judged  as  a  separate  design.  It  once  formed 
part  of  an  interesting  room  with  fitting  corresponding  semi-architectural  members  in  all  its 
parts.      See  the  illustrations  on  page  354  and  facing  page  352.      R.  Sturgis. 

Rush-Bottom  Corner  Chair         ....   364 

This  comer  chair  is  early,  probably  seventeenth  century,  and  a  most  interesting  piece  of 
tuming,  the  work  evidently  of  a  man  who  cared  for  his  details  and  their  proportions.  The 
only  vagary  that  he  has  allowed  to  creep  in  is  seen  in  the  monstrous  moldings  on  the  cross- 
bars below  the  seat;  and  these  are  so  discrepant  that  one  ventures  to  believe  them  taken 
from  another  piece.      R.  Sturgis. 

Dressing-Table  ......   366 

Carved  and  Gilt  Looking-Glass  and  a  Dressing- 
Table         .......   367 

Low-boy  or,  more  probably,  lower  part  of  a  tall-boy,  with  a  table-top  of  more  recent  date 
applied  to  it.  The  grounds  for  this  suggestion  are  in  the  apparent  lack  of  an  adequate  fin- 
ish and  of  sufficient  weight  of  wood  above  the  uppermost  drawers.  If  this  piece  be  com- 
pared with  the  more  highly  finished  piece  shown  facing  page  326  the  difference  is  at  once 
evident,  for  the  latter  has  all  the  appearance  of  having  been  planned  as  it  is  shown  in  the 
photograph.  The  drop-handles  of  this  piece  and  the  scutcheons  are  all,  undoubtedly,  of 
the  original  epoch,  but  they  are  not  of  special  interest  in  design  or  workmanship. 

The  mirror  hanging  on  the  wall  above  is  not  of  the  same  epoch.  The  frame  would  seem 
to  be  of  about  I  825.  The  curious  discs  below  it  are  nothing  but  the  ends  of  the  metal 
pins  secured  to  an  iron  band  as  seen,  and  used  to  support  the  frame.      R.  Sturgis. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

TAOE 

Mahogany     Dumbwaiter     and     Square     Table 

FACING    361 

The  tripods  and  standards  ofthne  two  pieces  are  similar  in  design,  though  apparently  nut 
made  to  match  as  if  forming  part  of  a  tingle  set.  The«e  tripod  feet  should  be  compared 
with  those  illustrated  in  the  plate  opposite  page  318.  The  term  dumbwaiter  is  the  only 
one  which  we  seem  to  have  in  the  language  of  decorative  art  for  such  pieces  as  this  ; 
although  the  same  term  applies  to  the  much  lower  and  broader  or  longer  piece  with  casters, 
which  can  be  run  into  any  part  of  the  room,  set  beside  the  hostess  or  the  host,  or  used  as 
a  carving  table ;  and  also  applied  to  the  modern  lift  when  utilized  for  the  purposes  of  the 
dining-room  and  serving-room.  The  present  piece  is  rather  one  for  the  display  of  glass  or 
silver  intended  for  use  at  the  dinner  then  in  progress  and  therefore  less  a  dumb  waiter  in 
the  proper  sense  than  an  adjunct  of  the  buffet  or  sideboard.      R.  Sturgis. 

Governor  John  VVentworth's  Desk  and  Bookcase    369 

This  piece  is  to  be  compred  with  the  one  shown  in  the  illustration  opposite  page  374. 
The  rtat  paneb  of  the  doors  here  are  more  likely  to  have  been  a  prt  of  the  original  design 
than  the  raised  panels  of  that  last  named  piece,  but  in  either  case  the  front  might  be  filled 
with  glass  or  with  solid  wood  panelling  without  other  change  in  the  design.  The  owner 
of  such  a  piece  would  sometimes  line  the  gbss  with  curtains  to  hide  the  interior  ;  thin 
green  silk  was  the  orthodox  material  for  this  purpose,  and  there  are  many  examples  still  in 
>    existence.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Liquor-Case       .  .  .  facing   370 

Liquor  case  with  eight  square  bottles  elaborately  engraved  by  the  wheel  and  with  cut-glass 
stoppers.  The  middle  of  the  case  is  occupied  by  a  pile  of  tumblers.  It  b  a  pity  that  we 
have  not  one  of  these  decanters  separate  that  the  decoration  of  its  body  might  be  visible.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Ezra  Ripley's  Writing-Chair    .  .  facing   370 

A  Windsor  chair  fitted  with  reading-stand  and  arranged  especially  for  a  near-sighted  man 
or  for  one  who,  being  very  tall,  desired  not  to  bend  over  his  work.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Chest-upon-Chest  of  Drawers  .  -27^ 

An  admirable  tall-boy  to  which  the  name  given  in  the  title  especuUy  applies.  That  name 
nuy  be  thought  to  be  a  free  translation  of  the  French  baAut  i  Jtux  corps.  The  piece  is 
indeed  two  chests  of  drawers,  or,  as  we  should  say  to-day,  bureaus,  set  one  upon  the  other. 
The  decoration  by  means  of  swelling  and  receding  rounds  of  the  whole  front,  drawers, 
divisions,  base,  surbase  and  all,  is  a  refined  example  of  the  same  system  of  adornment 
which  is  leas  successfully  carried  out  in  the  illustration  opposite  page  374.  The  brass 
handles  and  Kutcheons  seem  to  be  original ;  the  whole  piece  b  of  unusual  richness  and  im- 
portance.    R.  Sturgb. 

Mahogany  Bedstead  ....  facing   371 

Four-post  bedstead  with  permanent  hangings  such  as  served  as  bmbrequins,  in  a  sense,  cov- 
ering the  edges  of  the  thinner  curtains  which  could  be  drawn  to  and  away  and  preventing 
the  entrance  of  draughts  at  the  comers.  The  hangings  in  question  seem  to  be  Dutch 
material  of  about  1 740.  It  b  very  unusual  to  see  the  bedposts  terminating  below  with 
copies  of  the  handy  legs  of  tables  with  claw  feet  and  balb.  It  b  probable  that  the  whole 
piece  b  Dutch,  and  of  a  date  not  far  removed  from  that  above  mentioned. 

There  b  hanging  on  the  back  of  the  interesting  chair  on  the  right  a  great  caleche  of  a 
kind  somewhat  ditferent  from  the  one  seen  facing  page  if,^.  Un  the  left  b  what  must 
be  a  most  interesting  chest  of  drawers  with  secretary.  There  b  a  good  rag-carpet  rug 
at  the  foot  of  the  bed.      R.  Sturgb. 

Mahogany  Secretary  and  Bookcase  .  facing   374 

Chest  of  drawers  Mrith  writing-desk  and  bookcase.  An  unusually  elaborate  piece  of  furni- 
ture showing  all  the  curious  vagaries  of  design  which  mark  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACE 

century  in  England  and  the  Netherlands.  The  device  of  modifying  the  otherwise  fiat  linont 
of  a  pile  of  drawers  so  that  it  shall  have  projections  and  recesses  like  the  front  of  an  archi- 
tectural pavilion  is  one  which  occurs  to  a  designer  in  great  need  of  a  novelty.  The  natu- 
ral work  of  the  joiner  who  is  trying  to  make  useful  fiimiture  does  not  lead  him  into  such 
devices  :  they  are  the  resource  of  cabinet-makers  trying  to  stimulate  reluctant  purchasers  of 
furniture  by  the  prospect  of  something  altogether  unexampled.  Another  step  is  taken 
when,  as  in  the  present  case,  the  two  projections  and  the  recess  are  terminated  at  the  top 
with  convexly  and  concavely  rounded  members  which  replace  the  older  and  more  obvious 
plan  of  carrying  these  modulations  through  the  shelf  or  table-top  which  terminates  the  pile 
of  drawers.  In  the  present  case  still  another  step  iias  been  taken,  and  the  swellings  and 
sinkings,  though  not  condnuous,  are  taken  up  again  and  repeated,  curve  by  curve,  in  the 
sloping  front  of  the  desk — that  hinged  flap  which,  when  opened,  forms  the  wridng-shelf. 

As  to  the  cupboard  or  bookcase  above,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  original  filling  of 
the  doors  was  glass  with  light  sash  bars.  So  the  finish  to  this  upper  part  would  be  rich  and 
well  imagined  for  a  piece  of  that  not  very  tasteful  epoch.      R.  Sturgis. 

James  Bowdoin's  Desk         .  .  .  facing    375 

Chest  of  drawers  with  writing-desk  attachment,  a  characteristic  specimen  of  a  well-known 
type.  Such  a  piece, — called  secretary,  scrutoir,  and  by  various  other  names, — is  the  obvi- 
ous result  of  the  slight  literary  needs  of  a  farmer  or  citizen  whose  house  space  was  more- 
over limited,  hardly  allowing  him  to  use  three  feet  by  four  feet  of  floor-room  for  a  writing- 
table  which  would  not  be  used  every  day.  The  feet  that  these  pieces  were  nearly  always 
of  what  seems  to  us  now  an  impossible  height,  from  the  floor  to  the  writing-shelf,  makes 
this  explanation  the  more  obvious.  What  kind  of  high  stoob  the  original  owner  sat  upon, 
or  whether  he  stood  at  his  letter-writing,  as  he  might  well  have  stood  while  entering  items 
in  his  expense-book,  family  history  has  not  made  clear.  We  have  such  pieces  nowadays 
in  our  homes,  and  reduce  them  to  submission  to  modem  requirements  by  taking  ofF  the 
high  feet;  though  even  then  they  demand  a  library  chair  of  sometimes  unusual  height. 
R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Sideboard  ......   377 

Table  with  Falling  Leaves         ....   379 

A  round  table  planned  and  built  like  the  one  on  page  341.  In  each  of  these  tables  the 
extremely  graceful  and  restrained  curves  of  the  legs  are  worthy  of  notice.  Even  the  most 
ardent  advocate  of  realism  in  furniture,  of  an  insistence  upon  the  grain  of  the  wood  as  be- 
ing its  essential  strength,  will  be  satisfied  v,ith  the  legs  of  341,  and  if  he  were  to  dispute 
those  of  379  as  being  a  little  too  much  carved  away  and  leaving  a  part  of  the  grain  in  a 
feeble  exposure,  a  confrontation  of  his  criticism  with  the  table  itself  would  probably  con- 
vince him  that  iron-hard  wood  and  its  close,  almost  homogeneous  structure,  would  make 
such  comment  uncalled  for. 

It  cannot  be  thought,  however,  that  the  resulting  form  was  graceful  in  these  strong  and 
convenient  tables  of  the  eighteenth  century.  If  one  looked  at  them  from  a  distant  part 
of  the  room,  especially  if  seated  at  the  time,  he  would  see  too  much  of  the  machinery  and 
not  enough  of  the  design  of  the  piece  of  furniture.  In  fact,  the  design  was  almost  wholly 
conceived  with  respect  to  the  closed  table  standing  against  the  wall.  Then  it  was  dignified 
and  seemly  enough,  and  we  must  imagine  these  tables  as  opened  out  only  when  the  im- 
mediate demands  of  service  had  to  be  complied  with;  and  as  being  then  very  commonly 
covered  with  white  cloths.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Bedstead  WITH  Gilt  Ornaments         .   383 

This,  the  fourth  high  post  bedstead  given  in  this  Part  u  the  richest  of  all,  not  merely  be- 
cause of  the  gilded  appliques  on  the  comers  of  the  tester,  the  basket  of  doves  in  the  middle  of 
the  firont  or  foot  side  and  the  painting  which  is  carried  along  each  side  of  the  same  tester,  not 
even  these  with  the  addition  of  the  gilded  caps  which  cover  the  bed  screws  and  show  below, 
but  because  of  the  very  elaborate  and  also  judicious  and  well-combined  reeding,  moulding 
and  carving  of  the  wooden  posts  themselves.  It  is  noticeable  that  only  the  posts  of  the 
foot  are  invested  with  any  decoration  at  all,  those  of  the  head  being  perfectly  plain  square 
tapering  shafb.  This  is  one  of  the  handsomest  as  well  as  one  of  the  richest  four-post  bed- 
steads to  be  found.      The  possibility  that  the  painted  friezes  are  not  of  exactly  the  same 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGI 

epoch  M  the  carved  wood  mutt  be  kepr  in  mind,  but  does  not  injure  the  effect  of  the  piece. 
In  this  room  there  ii  a  mott  interesting  washttand  of  a  date  earlier  than  that  of  the  bed- 
stead ;  compare  pieces  shown  in  Part  III.  E(]uaUy  early  is  the  high-back  chair  teen 
against  the  door  at  the  right,  while  the  chair  with  the  lower  back  and  the  Kulprured  panel 
is  of  approximately  the  ume  date  as  the  bedstead  or  a  little  earlier.  There  u  a  good  mantel 
ckick  in  the  room,  a  piece  when  of  this  merit  and  of  this  style,  nnr  than  even  the  tall 
ckxkt  buik  for  ttairway  or  kitchen.      R.  Sturgit. 

Mahogany  Case  of  Drawers  .  facing  384 

Mahogany  Card  Table      .  .  .  facing   384 

Thii  a  a  tolid  and  handsome  table.  It  will  be  noticed  that  it  hat  five  legs,  one  of  which 
puDt  out  to  tupport  the  flap.  Thit  it  evidently  ooC  a  very  unutual  feature  since  an  identi- 
cal tpecimen  appears  on  page  309.      E.  S. 

Chair  used  by  John  Adams  ....   385 

This  '»  taid  to  have  been  uted  by  John  Adams  and  is,  therefore,  interesting  at  thowing  how 
long  the  old  Athiont  lurvived  in  tome  of  the  New  England  homet.  The  model,  of  course, 
belonp  to  the  teventeenth  century  and  has  already  been  fully  diKutsed.  Mr.  Adamt  was 
a  pronounced  enemy  to  fashion  and  luxury.      £.  S. 

Harpsichord        .....  facing    385 

Harpsichord  or  spinet.  It  is  urged  elsewhere  that  great  opportunities  teemed  offi»ed  the 
designer  of  such  pieces,  those  opportunities  be'mg  all  lost  when  the  much  more  ponderous 
piano  came  in  with  its  generally  four-square  case  and  heavy  legs.  It  is  still  the  ideal  way 
of  designing  a  piano  to  treat  its  box — that  which  containt  the  heavy  string-board  and  which 
it  opened  up  by  the  key-board — to  treat  that  by  itself  and  to  set  it  upon  a  supporting  frame 
of  corresponding  design  indeed,  but  not  lost  in  the  one  general  conception.  It  makes  a 
practised  designer  envious  to  tee  what  opportunities  for  nuking  a  pretty  and  delicate  piece 
of  fiimiturc  were  held  by  the  makeis  of  the  eighteenth  century  clavichords.      R.  Sturgis. 

Six-Legged  High  Case  of  Drawers     .  facing  390 

A  tall-boy  of  design  not  unlike  that  shown  in  the  frontispiece,  with  the  peculiarity  that  the 
vertical  sides  are  nearly  continuous,  as  indeed  are  those  of  that  on  page  397.  A  far  more 
general  custom  is  tvhave  the  upper  part  much  narrower  and  less  deep  than  the  table-like 
lower  ntember  and  this  distribution  is  seen  in  the  frontispiece.  The  use  o(  very  rich 
veneer  is  so  unustul  in  these  pieces  that  one  is  tempted  to  believe  it  an  addition  of  later  times, 
at  least  in  that  on  page  390,  and  this  might  even  be  held  as  probable  were  the  drawer  fironts 
only  so  adorned.  The  finishing  of  the  lower  part  around  and  beyond  the  door  fronts  makes 
the  above-mentioned  theory  less  tenable.  The  straining-piece  parted  in  the  middle  perhaps 
to  allow  of  the  pushing  into  the  space  within  of  a  jar  or  two — Chinese  or  Delft  covered 
vases,  is  also  posdUy  a  recent  change.  The  reader  will  notice  in  the  frontispiece  the  curi- 
ous way  in  which  the  straining-piece  b  bowed  in  the  middle,  and  it  is  probable  that  a 
similar  arrangement  existed  in  the  one  we  are  now  considering.     R.  Sturgk. 

Corner  Chair  ......  393 

This  chair  b  painted  white,  and  has  a  woven  mat  bottom.  It  b  a  plain  piece,  of  native 
manuficture.  It  should  be  compared  with  another  comer  chair  on  page  364,  of  very 
much  earlier  style.      E.  S. 

Settee  from  the  Brattle  Street  Church, 

Boston     .   394 

The  fret-work  in  the  back  b  indicative  of  the  Chippendale  Khool,  about  the  middle  of  the 
century.  The  heavy  and  ungraceful  top  curved  hu,  however,  b  scarcely  one  of  which 
Chippendale  would  have  approved.      E.  S. 

Cherry  Chest  of  Drawers     ....  395 

In  thb  piece  may  be  teen  the  development  of  the  old-fathioned  cheat  of  draweti  which  led 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


directly  to  the  more  recent  '*  bureau."  The  sensible  plan  is  adopted  of  putting  the  bottonn 
drawer  high  enough  above  the  floor  to  be  accessible  without  too  painful  stooping,  while  the 
top  drawers  may  be  thought  to  be  just  as  high  as  the  owner's  chin,  so  that  she  could  look 
into  them  without  effort.  The  large  square  raised  surface  with  the  radiating  and  waving 
flutes  may  be  another  drawer  or  it  may  be  the  door  to  a  square  compartment  with  little 
shelves.  Furniture  made  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  for  private  per- 
sons who  gave  the  order  direct  to  their  architect  or  decorator  has  also  been  made  on  this 
plan,  and  indeed  there  can  be  no  better  contrivance,  as  a  piece  as  high  as  this  takes  up  no 
more  room  on  the  floor  than  a  bureau  of  three  shallow  drawers.  The  requirement  will 
then  exist,  however,  of  a  separate  dressing  table  with  mirror,  but  this  is  itself  an  advan- 
tage, as  in  this  way  the  mirror  may  be  brought  much  nearer  to  the  floor.      R.  Sturgis. 

Corner  Chair  owned  by  Daniel  Bliss  (1756) 
AND  Two  Chairs  made  by  Joseph  Hos- 
mer   (Cabinet-makers)       .  .  .  . 

AU  three  of  these  are  of  native  manufacture.  The  three  turned  legs  of  the  comer  chair 
are  unusually  quaint  in  design.  This  chair  is  said  to  have  been  in  existence  in  1756.  The 
other  two  chairs  also  belong  to  the  Chippendale  period,  and  show  designs  that  frequently 
occur.      E.  S. 

Maple  Chest-upon-Chest  of  Drawers 

Tall-boy  of  very  elaborate  design  and  make,  a  piece  which  was  expensive  in  its  time  and  to 
which  more  thought  was  given  than  is  usual  with  pieces  of  such  well-known  type — pieces 
in  which  tradition  counted  for  almost  everything  and  novelty  of  design  had  but  a  small 
part  to  play.      R.  Sturgis. 


396 


397 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  V 


THE   FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

PART  V. 

New  England  from  1700  to  1770 

IMPORTED   AND    HOME-MADE   PIECES   OF   THE 
EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY 

T  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  the  amount 
of  wooden  furniture  imported  into  New 
England  during  the  eighteenth  century 
formed  a  very  small  proportion  of  what  was 
used  there.  English  wares,  including  hard- 
ware and  upholsterers'  goods  came  in  on 
every  ship  and  were  duly  advertised  in  the  local  papers,  but 
on  examining  the  Salem  papers  prior  to  the  Revolution  we 
scarcely  ever  come  across  an  announcement  of  wooden  fur- 
niture brought  in  by  the  latest  arrivals.  The  fact  is  that 
New  England  was  not  only  self-supporting  in  the  province 
of  wooden  ware,  but  was  able  to  export  a  considerable 
quantity  of  that  class  of  goods  to  other  colonies.  Her  join- 
ers and  cabinet-makers  were  numerous  and  expert,  and  con- 
sequently New  England  furniture  found  a  ready  sale  in  the 

3«S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

South.  Edward  Drinker,  Jr.,  went  from  Philadelphia  to 
Boston  before  1700  to  learn  the  craft  of  cabinet-making. 
Enterprising  workmen  from  Boston  and  other  towns  some- 
times transferred  their  energies  to  other  fields  where  com- 
petition was  not  so  keen.  One  of  those  who  went  to  New 
York  has  already  been  cited,  and  in  the  South  Carolina  Ga- 
zettCy  November  2,  1734,  we  find  an  advertisement  by 
another : 

"  This  is  to  give  notice  that  Charles  Warham,  Joiner, 
late  from  Boston,  N.  England  ;  maketh  all  sorts  of  Tables, 
Chests,  Chest  of  Drawers,  Desks,  Book-cases,  &c.  Also 
coffins  of  the  newest  fashion,  never  as  yet  made  in  Charles- 
town." 

Some  idea  of  the  number  of  men  engaged  in  this  branch 
of  industry  in  New  England  may  be  gained  from  the  rec- 
ords of  Salem,  which  embrace  the  towns  of  the  seaboard  of 
Massachusetts  to  the  North  of  Boston.  The  numerous 
housewrights  are  not  included  in  this  list;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  they  also  made  a  great  deal  of  the  com- 
mon kinds  of  furniture,  such  as  tables,  chairs,  forms  and 
cradles.  In  Lynn,  we  find  John  Davis,  1703;  Thomas 
Burrage,  1718;  his  son,  Thomas,  1751;  and  Timothy 
Howard,  1764.  These  were  joiners.  Jonathan  Johnson 
was  a  chair-maker  there  and  died  in  1 74 1 .  The  joiners  of 
Ipswich  mentioned  are  Thomas  Dennis,  1703;  his  son, 
Thomas,  1706;  John  Brown,  1746;  and  William  Cald- 
well, 1759.  Another  John  Brown,  1758,  was  a  turner 
there,  and  Bemsley  Wells,  a  cabinet-maker.  Marblehead's 
joiners  were  Samuel  Goodwin,  1729;  Matthew  Severett, 
1745;  Samuel  Striker  and  Michael  Bowden,  1762;  Joseph 
Potter,  1768;  Francis  Cook,  1772;  and  Job  Trask,  1780. 
Thomas  Laskey,  1761,  and  Benjamin  Laskey,  1778,  were 

3.6 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

chair-makers.  Joiners  of  Salem  were  James  Symond,  1 7 1 4 ; 
Jos.  Allen,  1740;  John  Lander,  1757;  Deacon  Miles 
Ward  and  Joseph  Gavet,  1765;  Joseph  Symonds,  1769; 
and  Jno.  Young,  1773.  Lemmon  Beadle,  a  carver,  171 7; 
and  Benjamin  Gray,  a  chair-maker,  1761,  also  lived  there. 
Newbury,  or  Newburyport,  sheltered  Francis  Halliday, 
1767;  Jeremiah  Pearson  and  Spindelow  Morrison,  1768; 
Parker  Titcomb,  1772;  Samuel  Long,  1774;  and  Moses 
Bayley,  1778.  Besides  these  joiners,  there  were  Daniel 
Harris,  1752,  John  Harris,  1767,  and  Sevvall  Short,  1773, 
cabinet-makers;  and  Oliver  Moody,  1775,  and  his  son, 
Oliver,  1776,  chair-makers.  Beverley  had  John  Corning, 
1734,  turner;  Joshua  Bisson,  1750,  and  Benjamin  Jones, 
1776,  joiners.  Other  joiners  were  Joseph  Ames,  Haver- 
hill, 1 741;  Benjamin  Thurston,  Bradford,  1746;  John 
Tyler,  Gloucester,  1767;  Ebenezer  Osgood,  1768  ;  William 
Rea,  Wenham,  1771  ;  and  David  Currier,  Salisbury,  1778; 
Jonathan  Goodhue,  Gloucester,  1 770,  and  Moses  Dodge, 
Manchester,  1 776,  were  cabinet-makers :  and  Thomas  Cross, 
Bradford,  1772,  a  chair-maker. 

The  majority  of  the  above  were  men  of  small  means 
whose  principal  stock  in  trade  consisted  of  tools,  timber 
and  boards ;  and  their  own  furniture  was  usually  very  sim- 
ple. Samuel  Goodwin,  j^' 1634  ;  John  Corning,  ^^i  38  i  ; 
Benjamin  Thurston,  ^^i  i  2  i  ;  Parker  Titcomb,  ;t  i  394 »  ^"^ 
Job  Trask  were  exceptionally  wealthy.  By  a  scrutiny  of 
the  cabinet-ware  found  in  the  shops,  we  can  gain  sure  knowl- 
edge of  what  kind  of  furniture  was  being  made  for  the 
average  householder  at  the  time  the  inventory  was  taken, 
and  this  renders  this  class  of  inventory  more  valuable  than 
any  other  for  our  purpose.  Samuel  Goodwin's  furniture 
(1729)  shows  the  strange  mixture  of  styles   and    materials 

3>7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


LEATHER    CHAIRS    AND    BELLOWS 

Made  by  the   Rev.  Thcophilus   Pickering  in    1 724  ;  now  in   the   Pickering   House,  Salem,  Mass. 
See  page  320. 

characteristic  of  the  transitional  period  between  carved  oak 
and  mahogany.  His  thirty-one  chairs  were  cane,  leather, 
Turkey -work,  matted-bottom,  and  carved-back ;  and  his 
tables  were  of  maple,  black  walnut  and  white-wood.  His 
shop  gave  no  evidence  of  work. 

John  Corning  was  evidently  still  at  business  as  a  turner 
when  he  died  in  1734^  In  his  shop  were  eleven  two- 
backed  new  chairs ;  nine  ditto  without  bottoms ;  rungs  and 

31S 


MAHOGANY  TABLE  MAHOGANY  TABLE 

Owned  by  Silas  Dean f,  nou;  in  the  rooms  of  the  Owned  by  Lois  Orne  about  1770,  now  in  the 
Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Hartford.  Essex  Institute,  Salem,  Mass. 

See  page  361.  See  page  361. 


S.NL^LL  ROUND  TABLE 

Owned  by  Nathaniel  Silsbee  in  Salem,  now  by 

Mrs.  Edward  C.  Pickering,  Observatory, 

Cambridge,  Mass.     See  page  362. 


MOLL  PITCHERS  TABLE 

Soto  in  the  Essex  Institute,  Salem. 

See  page  331. 


L_. 


GILT  MIRROR  AND  MAHOGANY  DRESSING  TABLE 
Owned  by  Mrs.  IVainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.     See  page  343. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

backs  for  chairs;  stocks  and  spokes  for  spinning-wheels; 
"other  stuff  prepared  in  the  shop;"  a  frame  for  an  oval 
table;  and  thirty-six  bundles  of  flags  for  chairs.  The  chair 
frames  were  probably  turned  out  of  poplar,  as  half  a  cord 
of  that  wood,  valued  at  ten  shillings,  is  all  the  timber  in 
stock.  This  furniture  was  of  the  cheapest  kind,  since  it 
totalled  only  j[^-2-o.  Matthew  Severett  (^^422;  1745) 
had  in  his  shop  1 1 8 1  ft.  of  pine  boards,  604  ft.  of  maple, 
204  ft.  of  black  walnut,  and  173  ft.  of  oak  joist.  The 
latter  was  the  cheapest,  costing  three-sevenths  of  a  penny 
per  foot.  The  maple  was  very  slightly  cheaper  than  the 
pine,  the  prices  being  three-fifths  and  two-thirds  of  a  penny 
per  foot  respectively.  The  walnut  was  by  far  the  most 
valuable,  being  worth  three-and-one-half  pence  per  foot. 
In  Benjamin  Thurston's  shop  (1746)  there  was  only  "ma- 
ple board  and  stuff"  valued  at  ten  shillings.  Daniel  Harris 
(^'289;  1752)  had  a  more  varied,  though  still  limited, 
asvsortment  of  cabinet-ware  than  any  of  the  above.  His 
twenty-four  chairs,  thirty-two  shillings,  and  thirty-four  tables, 
^3-1-4,  were  common  enough  ;  but  seven  desks,  two  tables, 
jf  20- 1  3-4,  evidently  belonged  to  the  superior  grade  of  fur- 
niture. Board,  plank  and  joist  came  to  ^f  8-1-5.  Benjamin 
Gray  (^£^38 1  ;  1 76 1 )  had  a  small  stock  of  thirty-eight  chairs 
in  his  chair-making  business:  ten  of  these  were  "great" 
chairs,  ranging  in  price  from  eight  to  four  shillings  each. 
The  other  chairs  cost  from  two  shillings  to  thirteen  pence 
each.  These  also  must  therefore  have  been  of  simple  con- 
struction. 

Deacon  Miles  Ward  (^312;    1765)  had   even  cheaper 
chairs  in  his  house,  nine  of  them  being   worth   only  eight 
pence  each.      His  fellow  townsman  Joseph  Gavet  (^^299  ; 
1765)  owned  a  maple  desk,  ;^' 1-4-0;  a  maple  case  of  draw- 
sis 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ers,  j^'2-8-0;  low  case  of  drawers,  ^'i  ;  and  high  case  of 
drawers,  ^{f  1-4-0.  His  shop  contained  maple,  oak,  pine, 
walnut  and  a  little  mahogany  timber.  John  Harris  (^^262; 
1767)  had  some  frames  for  tables  and  black  walnut  and 
maple  boards  in  his  shop.  Samuel  Stryker's  goods  {j[j^ ; 
1762)  were  principally  of  maple.  Three  tables  of  that 
timber  were  worth  twenty-four,  sixteen,  and  six  shillings 
respectively.  His  chairs  were  of  a  slightly  better  class  than 
the  average  joiner's,  costing  from  three  shillings  to  sixteen 
pence  each.  He  had  a  desk  at  £2 ;  another,  unfinished, 
was  valued  at  eight,  and  an  unfinished  chair  at  four  shil- 
lings. Joseph  Symonds  (^362;  1769)  had  a  maple  desk, 
^'  I  - 1 0-0,  and  a  maple  case  of  drawers ;  a  cherry-tree  desk, 
j^2-io-o;  and  some  black  and  "joiner's"  chairs  from  four 
shillings  to  one  shilling  each.  One  4-ft.  table  cost  sixteen 
shillings;  a  3-ft.  ditto,  eight  shillings;  a  3^ -ft.  maple 
ditto,  twelve  shillings;  a  3-ft.  frame  with  leaves  not  hung, 
seven  shillings;  a  breakfast  ditto,  two  shillings;  and  a  toi- 
lette-table, only  sixpence.  The  timber  in  the  shop  was 
maple,  black  walnut,  cherry  and  mahogany.  The  walnut 
was  worth  eight  pence,  the  cherry,  one  and  two-thirds 
pence,  and  the  mahogany,  eighteen  pence  per  foot.  Jo- 
nathan Goodhue  (^202;  1770)  left  "  sundry  joiner's  work 
unfinished,  ^^i  i-i  I-9-"  Francis  Cook  (^126;  1772)  left 
only  six  shillings'  worth  of  walnut  and  pine  board. 

The  leather  chairs  on  page  3 1 8  were  made  in  1 724 
by  the  Rev.  Theophilus  Pickering  of  Salem.  The  bellows 
was  also  made  by  him,  and  bear  that  date  in  brass  nails  with 
his  initials.  These  pieces  are  owned  by  Mr.  John  Picker- 
ing in  Salem,  Mass.  The  chair  on  page  321  is  a  four- 
back  chair  with  rush  bottom.  It  is  painted  green,  and  is 
supplied  with  castors.  This-  belonged  to  the  Lincoln  family, 

320 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


And  is  now   in   the  rooms  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass. 

The  furniture  of  mOvSt  of  the  joiners  and 
cabinet-makers  was  very  scanty,  and  the 
prices  already  given  show 
that  the  wares  they  made 
were  intended  for  the 
great  class  of  yeomen, 
artisans,  and  mariners. 
A  specimen  of  the  cheap 
joinery  work  of  these 
men  is  shown  in  the 
lower  right-hand  corner 
of  the  plate  facing  page 
318.  It  is  a  roughly 
put  together  table  with 
falling  leaves,  cabriole 
legs  and  hoof  feet.  It 
belonged  originally  to 
Moll  Pitcher,  the  famous 
fortune-teller  of  Lynn. 
She  was  born  in  1738  in 
Marblehead.  Rich  and 
poor  consulted  her  in 
serious  earnest,  and  few  vessels  sailed  without  obtaining  her 
favourable  augury.  Her  method  was  divination  by  tea.  In 
1760,  she  was  married  to  Robert  Pitcher,  and  died  in 
181 3,  being  buried  in  Lynn,  where  she  had  lived  for 
many  years.  The  picture  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  represents  the  table  at  which  she  sat  when  receiving 
her  clients. 

Sewall  Short  {£jq6;  1773)  was  a  Newburyport  cabi- 


OLD   GREEN    PAINTED  ANI>   Rl'>H- 

BOTTOM    CHAIR 

Owned  by  the  Lincoln  fimily,  now  in  the  rooms  of 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcetter,  Mao. 
See  pagr  310. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

net-maker  who  kept  a  more  ambitious  stock  both  in  quan- 
tity and  quality.  His  timber  comprised  1429  ft.  of  pine, 
i860  maple,  276  black  walnut,  115  cedar,  1045  red  cedar, 
448  Spanish  cedar,  and  44  mahogany.  He  made  high- 
priced  furniture  of  the  latest  styles  and  most  expensive  ma- 
terials. At  his  death,  the  mahogany  furniture  in  his  work- 
shop was  valued  at  high  figures  even  in  its  incomplete  state. 
The  mahogany  pieces  specified  as  unfinished  were  as  fol- 
lows: desk  and  bookcase,  ^^15;  desk,  ^6-15-0;  bookcase, 
£^ ;  plain  ditto,  ^^3 ;  plain  desk,  ^4 ;  and  stand  table, 
fourteen  shillings.  The  other  unfinished  work  consisted  of 
a  cedar  desk  and  bookcase,  ^^6-5-0;  large  cedar  desk, 
jf  4-5-0 ;  2  common  cedar  ditto,  ^^4-5-0 ;  small  maple 
ditto,  sixteen  shillings;  black  walnut  table,  five  shillings; 
and  "a  quantity  of  stock  partly  wrought,  jf  1-4-0."  Fin- 
ished work  in  stock  included  two  4-ft.  mahogany  tables, 
j^4-i6-o;  two  3^ -ft.  ditto,  ^4;  mahogany  chamber 
table,  j^i-4-0;  two  4-ft.  Spanish  cedar  tables,  ^^3-1 0-0; 
and  thirty  chairs  (kind  not  specified),  ;^3-i3-o.  Four 
mahogany  table  frames,  ^^3-1 0-0 ;  and  six  cabin-stool  frames 
completed  the  list  of  warehouse  goods. 

Mr.  Short's  desks  and  bookcases  evidently  had  brass 
mounts  and  glass  doors,  for  he  had  in  stock  sixty  brass 
handles,  ;^  1-5-0;  forty-eight  ditto,  ^^0-16-0;  two  sets  of 
desk  brasses,  ^^0-8-4 ;  thirty  escutcheons,  ^{^0-6-3 ;  twenty- 
four  ditto,  ^0-4-0 ;  and  sundry  old  brasses,  bolts  and  locks, 
^0-8-0.  The  panes  of  glass  in  the  doors  were  small,  be- 
ing of  the  sizes  commonly  used  in  the  windows  and  hall- 
lanterns  of  the  day.  Mr.  Short's  stock  of  glass  comprised 
ninety-three  squares  7X9,\;^i-3-3 ;  and  three  hundred  and 
seventy-six  ditto  5x7,  ^^2-10-1. 

(jlass  was  sold  in  standard  sizes  in  New  England  as  well 

322 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

as  New  York.  Abner  Chase  advertises  in  the  Essex  Ga- 
zette, May  28,  1771:  "Bristol  crown  window  glass,  7x5, 
6x8,  7x9,  8x10,  9x1 1,  9x1  2."  Joiners  were  often  glaziers 
also:  Thomas  Waldron  of  Marblehead  (^43;  1740)  has 
"window  frames,  chairs  and  30  squares  of  glass,  ^^'i  2-2-0," 
among  his  joiner's  ware. 

The  only  timber  found  in  the  shop  of  Oliver  Moody, 
Jr.  (j^*i68;  1776),  was  82  ft.  of  poplar  and  52  ft.  of  ash, 
all  valued  at  seventeen  shillings.  He  manufactured  chairs. 
Moses  Dodge  (^^132;  1776)  owned  675  ft.  of  maple  at 
two  pence,  and  1 76  ft.  of  black  walnut  at  three  pence  per 
foot.  Benjamin  Jones  (;^^303;  1776)  was  a  joiner  who 
made  miscellaneous  cabinet-ware.  His  goods  included  a 
desk,  j[2-S-o ;  ditto,  j^'2-4-0 ;  chest  with  drawers,  j[o- 1  3-4 ; 
case  of  drawers,  j^*2-i3-4;  seven  tables,  ^^'2-2-0;  stand- 
table,  half  finished,  j^o-6-8  ;  table  frame,  j^o-io-o;  brack- 
ets for  desk,  j^'0-2-0;  legs  for  candlestand,  ^0-1-6;  lists 
(frames)  and  backs  for  chairs,  ^^'o- 1 6-0 ;  thirteen  chairs, 
j^i-i-o;  great  chair  and  six  small  ditto,  ^{'5-3-9;  two  great 
round  and  six  joiner's  ditto,  ^^2-8-0;  and  a  rough  table- 
leaf,  sixteen  pence.  Mr.  Jones  thus  made  chairs  for  all 
classes, — even  the  most  fashionable.  His  timber  consisted 
of  207  ft.  walnut,  208  ft.  maple,  40  ft,  cherry,  and  one 
thousand  clapboards. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  analysis  of  the  wares  pro- 
duced by  local  workmen  in. the  region  of  which  Salem  and 
Marblehead  formed  the  head-centre,  that  the  needs  of  the 
community  must  have  been  very  simple,  unless  the  native 
productions  were  supplemented  by  importations.  This 
conclusion  is  fully  supported  by  an  examination  of  the  in- 
ventories as  a  whole,  which  show  very  small  estates  during 
the  first  half  century.      Indeed,  the  first  considerable  estates 

3»3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

found  are  those  of  James  Calley  (1734),  and  Captain 
Joseph  Smethurst  (1746),  both  of  Marblehead.  Of  the 
former's  estate  of  ^2,3  1 1-16-18^  ,  only  ;^74  represented 
household  furniture,  and  of  this  a  desk  worth  ^5,  a 
looking-glass,  ^^'5,  and  a  clock  ^'7,  were  the  only  notice- 
able pieces.  Of  Captain  Smethurst's  total  of  ^2,685-1  1-7, 
a  schooner  accounts  for  ^^300,  and  real  estate  for  ^'1,000 
more.  He  owned  silver  plate  valued  at  ^107-19-2;  but 
with  the  exception  of  a  Japanned  tea-table  (j^*5-io-o)  all 
his  wooden  furniture  was  such  as  was  made  by  the  native 
joiners.  When  the  woods  are  specified  during  this  period, 
which  is  comparatively  seldom,  they  prove  to  be  those 
found  in  the  joiners' shops ;  viz.:  pine,  maple,  etc.  The  ab- 
sence of  cabinet-makers'  advertisements  from  the  Salem 
papers  is  noticeable.  A  rapid  survey  of  their  columns  has 
not  yielded  a  single  example,  although  notices  of  the  ar- 
rival of  English  goods  are  not  uncommon. 

The  same  conditions  existed  in  Boston.  Sometimes  we 
find  a  cabinet-maker  removing  to  Salem  from  Boston,  which 
was  regarded  as  one  of  the  headquarters  of  good  work. 
We  have  seen  Boston  wares  quoted  in  New  York.  An 
advertisement,  in  1771,  informs  the  public  that  Joseph  P. 
Goodwin  from  Charlestown  has  set  up  business  in  Salem. 
**  He  makes  best  mahogany  chairs,  couches  and  easy  chairs, 
sofas  and  anything  in  the  chairmaking  business.  ...  N. 
B.  He  has  got  two  sorts  of  chairs  made  by  him  which  are 
called  as  neat  as  any  that  are  made  in  Boston."  The  last 
sentence  implies  that  the  chair-makers  of  the  day  by  no 
means  confined  themselves  slavishly  to  recognized  styles  and 
patterns,  but  sought  to  introduce  variations  of  their  own 
design.  Even  clocks  and  watches  were  made  here  in  con- 
siderable quantities,  and  some  of  the  native  makers  were  in 

3*4 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

very  good  repute.  The  Salem  Ga-zette  of  December  23, 
1774,  announces  that  "James  Furnivall,  clock  and  watch- 
maker (late  journeyman  to  Richard  Cranch  of  Boston),  has 
opened  a  shop  at  Marblehead." 

An  Ipswich  clockmaker  at  this  date  was  Richard  Man- 
ning; a  simple  clock  of  his,  made  in  1767,  faces  page  360. 
It  is  owned  by  the  Essex  Institute,  Salem,  Mass. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  old  houses  in  Salem  has 
been  made  famous  by  Hawthorne  in  T^he  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables.  Four  generations  of  Turners — wealthy  merchants 
of  Salem — lived  in  it.  The  first.  Captain  John  Turner, 
removed  here  soon  after  1662.  In  his  day,  the  house  con- 
sisted of  two  large  lower  rooms,  two  chambers  above,  and 
rooms  in  the  attic.  Captain  Turner's  troop  served  against 
the  Indians  and  in  the  Canadian  Expedition.  His  son, 
John,  was  of  great  importance  in  Salem.  He  commanded 
the  town  regiment  and  was  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council. 
He  died  in  1743,  worth  ^^  10,75 2-1 7-8  J^  .  His  home  was 
elaborately  furnished.  The  "best  room'  contained  four 
tables  :  one,  of  black  walnut,  was  large  and  expensive ;  an- 
other was  japanned  ;  the  third,  a  small  walnut ;  and  the 
fourth,  an  inlaid  tea-table  and  stand.  Upon  the  latter 
stood  a  set  of  blue-and-white  china.  There  were  twelve 
black  cane  chairs,  half  a  dozen  white  cane  chairs,  and  a 
great  white  cane  chair  in  the  room.  A  looking-glass  with 
two  brass  arms,  valued  at  ;^  30,  and  two  glass  sconces  hung 
on  the  walls,  as  well  as  nineteen  mezzotints  covered  with 
glass.  A  bright  fire  blazed  upon  the  usual  brass  hearth 
furniture ;  and  the  great  amount  of  china  and  glass,  in- 
cluding punch-bowls,  flowered  decanters,  plates,  dishes,  tea- 
pots, etc.,  indicates  that  the  "  best  room  "  was  a  breakfast  and 
dining,  as  well  as  a  living  room. 

s»$ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  "Great  Chamber"  was  equally  well  furnished. 
Its  most  valuable  piece  of  furniture  was  the  bed  with  its 
head-cloth,  tester,  double  set  of  curtains  of  camblet  and 
"flow'd  muzling,"  its  silk  quilt  and  blankets.  The  window 
curtains  matched  the  bed  curtains,  as  was  the  custom  of  the 
day.  The  next  important  articles  were  a  "  case  of  drawers 
and  mounts"  and  a  cabinet,  worth  respectively  ^31-10-0 
and  j^2^.  There  were  no  less  than  eighteen  chairs  here. 
There  was,  of  course,  an  open  fire  upon  brass  andirons,  and 
on  the  walls  were  twenty  pictures  in  lacquered  frames,  and 
a  looking-glass  with  two  brass  arms.  There  was  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  china  in  this  "  great  chamber,"  including 
a  "  sullabub  pott,"  and  three  china  images  used  as  orna- 
ments. Some  of  it  stood  upon  a  painted  table  and  a  stand. 
Nearly  every  article  used  in  table  service  is  found  here. 

The  Hall  contains  a  clock  worth  j£i^\  and  a  long, 
a  black  walnut  oval,  and  two  small  tables.  There  are  two 
old  chairs,  and  twelve  leather  chairs,  a  looking-glass,  three 
maps,  and  a  brass  dial ;  and  iron  dogs  instead  of  the  custo- 
mary brass. 

Passing  into  the  hall  chamber,  we  find  a  bed  hung  with 
calico  curtains,  head-cloth  and  tester,  and  made  comfort- 
able with  a  blanket,  a  green  rug,  a  blue  rug,  and  a  large 
and  small  calico  quilt.  The  windows  are  draped,  seven 
pictures  brighten  the  walls,  and  we  note  a  "  case  of  draws," 
a  cypress  chest,  a  square  table,  a  stand,  four  black  chairs, 
one  old  chair,  and  some  china,  among  which  is  a  large 
coffee-cup. 

The  "shop  chamber"  contains  a  bed  with  curtains, 
head-cloth  and  valance,  two  old  chairs  and  three  small 
pictures.  Six  pictures  adorn  the  stairway;  and  a  map  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  one  of  Boston,  the  entry  way. 

336 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  "Porch  Chamber"  was  furnished  with  a  bed  and 
bedstead  having  a  tester,  head-cloth,  curtains  and  valance 
and  four  rugs,  worth  altogether  ^^25;  and  an  old  chest  of 
drawers. 

The  "Kitchen  Chamber"  had   a   more   expensive  bed 


MAHOGANY     FIELD-BED 
In  the  Warner  Hout^,  Portsmouth,  N.  H.     See  page  334. 


and  bedstead,  adorned  with  blue  curtains  and  furnished  with 
two  blankets  and  two  quilts.  A  looking-glass,  an  old  oak 
table,  an  old  case  of  drawers,  and  five  Turkey-work  and 
five  callimanco  chairs  complete  the  furniture  of  this  room. 
The  windows  were  made  cheerful  by  six  curtains  of  calico. 
Four  pictures  hung  on  the  walls.  There  was  the  usual 
brass  hearth  furniture,  and   in  this  room  were  kept  great 

8»7 


TOE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

stores  of  Holland,  garlix,  **  oznabriggs  "  and  other  materials 
for  sheeting  and  counterpanes,  besides  table  linen  amount- 
ing to  no  less  than  ^'390.  The  "Great  Chamber  Gar- 
rott"  was  also  a  store  room.  Here  we  find  two  old  bed- 
steads, an  old  chest,  fifteen  old  rugs,  and  a  feather  bed 
weighing  fifty  pounds.  The  "Accounting  Room,"  on  the 
first  rioor,  contained  an  old  slate  table,  three  trunks  and  a 
chest.  We  cannot  fail  to  notice  the  arms  and  ammunition 
here,  including  pistols  and  bullets;  nor  the  silver  scales  and 
weights  worth  ^5,  a  silver-hilted  sword-belt  and  dagger 
valued  at  ^^8,  velvet  holsters,  a  bufl^  belt  and  three  straps 
and  belt,  and  a  case  with  fifteen  bottles. 

In   Captain   Francis  Goelet's  yo«r«tf/ ( 1746- 1750)  we 
get  a  glimpse  of  the  best  house  of  this  district. 

"  Oct.  20th.  Lodg'd  at  Mr.  Brownes  after  Breakfast 
Sauntered  round  the  Towne  mayking  Our  Observations  on 
the  Build%  etc.  Dynd  at  his  House  after  Dinner  had  a 
Good  Deal  Conversation  with  him  upon  Various  subjects, 
he  being  a  Gent"  of  Excellent  Parts  well  Adversed  in  Lea- 
turate,  a  Good  Scholar,  a  Vertuosa  and  Lover  of  the  Lib- 
eral Arts  and  Sciences,  having  an  Extraordinary  Library  of 
Books  of  the  Best  Ancient  and  Modern  Authors,  about  3 
a  Clock  we  Sett  out  in  his  Coach  for  his  Country  Seat 
rideing  trough  a  Pleasant  Country  and  fine  Rhoads  we  ar- 
rived there  at  4  a  clock  the  Situation  is  very  Airy  Being 
upon  a  Heigh  Hill  which  Over  Looks  the  Country  all 
Round  and  aflx^rds  a  Pleasant  Rural  Prospect  of  a  Fine 
Country  with  fine  woods  and  Lawns  with  Brooks  water 
running  trough  them.  You  have  also  a  Prospect  of  the 
Sea  on  one  Part  and  On  another  A  Mountain  80  Miles 
distant.  The  House  is  Built  in  the  Form  of  a  Long  Square, 
with  Wings  at  Each  End,  and  is  about  80   Foot  Long,  in 

3Z8 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  middle  is  a  Grand  Hall  Surrounded  above  by  a  fine  Cial- 
lery  with  Neat  turned  Bannester  and  the  Cealing  of  the 
Hall  representing  a  Large  room  Designed  for  an  Assembly 
or  Ball  Room,  the  Gallery  for  the  Musicians,  etc.  The 
Building  has  four  doors  Fronting  the  N.  E.  S.  and  W. 
Standing  in  the  Middle  the  Great  Hall  you  have  a  Full 
View  of  the  Country  from  the  Four  Dores  at  the  Ends  of 
the  Buildings  in  2  upper  and  2  Lower  Rooms  with  Neat 
Stair  Cases  Leadeing  to  them  in  One  the  Lower  Rooms  is 
his  Library  and  Studdy  well  Stockd  with  a  Noble  Collec- 
tion of  Books." 

We  have  seen  that  none  of  the  Salem  or  Marblehead 
joiners  and  cabinet-makers,  whom  we  have  found  recorded 
before  1773,  kept  in  stock  the  most  expensive  kinds  of  fur- 
niture, whether  imported  or  home-made;  we  have  also  seen 
that  the  newspapers  do  not  mention  it.  The  question 
therefore  naturally  arises :  Where  did  the  Turners,  Brownes 
and  other  prosperous  merchants  procure  their  fine  furniture? 
The  answer  is  that  some  of  it  was  made  to  order,  and  the 
rest  was  specially  imported,  sometimes  in  their  own  ships, 
just  as  was  the  case  in  Boston. 

It  was  quite  the  custom  for  persons  of  affluence  to  have 
their  furniture  made  to  order,  and  sometimes  they  imported 
their  own  woods,  as  in  the  case  of  Christopher  Champlin, 
a  young  merchant  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  who  brought  with 
him  from  the  West  Indies,  in  1 762,  several  logs  of  mahogany 
and  had  a  number  of  pieces  of  furniture  constructed. 
Among  these  was  a  bureau  which  was  used  for  many  years 
by  his  daughter.  Miss  Peggy  Champlin,  quite  a  famous 
belle,  and  by  his  son,  Christopher  Grant  Champlin,  who 
purchased  the  Champlin  House  in  Newport  (previously 
known  as  the  Cheeseborough  House)  in  1782.   The  bureau 

3»9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

finally   descended   to    Mr.    George    Champlin    Mason,    of 
Newport. 

The  correspondence  of  merchants  with  their  foreign 
agents  from  the  earliest  times  contains  many  orders  for 
purchases  of  household  goods.  Sufficient  has  survived  to 
show  the  extent  of  this  practice.  A  few  specific  instances 
may  be  offered  in  evidence. 

In  a  letter   to   Samuel   Storke,  dated  **  Boston,  N.  E., 
Feb.  20,  ly'^y"  we  find  Judge  Sewall  enclosing  the  follow- 
ing "Memoranda": 
"To  be  Bought. 

"  Curtains  and  Vallens  for  a  Bed,  with  Counterpane, 
Head-Cloth  and  Tester  of  good  yellow  waterd  worsted 
camlet  *  with  Triming  well  made ;  and  Bases,  if  it  be  the 
fashion. 

"  A  good  fine  large  Chintz  Quilt  well  made.  A  True 
Looking-Glass  of  black  Walnut  Frame  of  the  newest 
Fashion  (if  the  Fashion  be  good),  as  good  as  can  be  bought 
for  five  or  six  pounds. 

"  A  second  Looking-Glass  as  good  as  can  be  bought  for 
four  or  Five  pounds,  same  kind  of  frame. 

"  A  Duzen  of  good  black  Walnut  chairs,  fine  Cane,  with 
a  Couch.  A  Duzen  of  Cane  Chairs  of  a  different  figure, 
and  great  Chair,  for  a  Chamber;   all  black  Walnut." 

His  list  also  includes  a  bell-metal  skillet,  a  warming- 
pan,  four  pairs  of  brass-headed  iron  dogs,  a  brass  hearth  for 
a  chamber  with  dog's  tongs,  shovel  and  fender  of  the  new- 
est fashion  (the  fire  to  lie  on  the  iron),  a  brass  mortar,  four 
pairs  of  brass  candlesticks,  four  brass  snuffers  with  stands, 
six  small  brass  chafing  dishes,  two  brass  basting  ladles,  a  pair 


*  "  Send  also  of  the  same  Camlet  and  Triming,  as  may  be  enotigh  to  make  Cushions 
for  the  Chamber  Chairs." 

330 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  bellows  with  brass  noses,  a  small  hair  broom,  a  dozen  large 
pewter  plates,  newest  fashion,  a  dozen  pewter  porringers,  a 
dozen  small  glass  salt-cellars,  and  a  dozen  good  ivory-hafted 


MAHOOANY  LOW  CASE    OF  DRAWERS  AND  MAHOGANY  LOOKING-GLASS 
Uwnetl  by  Mid  Sherburne,  Warner  Houie,  Purtunouth,  N.  H.     See  page  367. 


knives  and  forks.  These  articles  are  intended  for  his  daugh- 
ter Judith.  He  sends  j^  50  and  adds,  "  If  there  be  any  money 
over,  send  a  piece  of  fine  Cambrick  and  a  Ream  of  good 
Writing  Paper." 

Another  instance  is  the  following  order  in  a  letter  from 

33« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Sir  William  Pepperell  to  Silas  Hooper  in  England.       It  is 
dated  December  6,  1737.      He  writes: 

"  I  Desire  you  will  buy  and  send  me  by  y^  first  good 
Opportunity,  for  this  port  or  Boston,  twenty  peaces  ossen- 
brigs ;  eight  dosn.  of  halfe  hower  glasses ;  foure  dos°  of  halfe 
minit  glasses;  three  peaces  of  bedtick  of  about  fiveteen 
pence  p'  yard ; — ten  peaces  of  Lubeck  Duck ;  six  dozen  of 
such  castor  hats  you  sent  last  ...  six  dos"  of  Cheep  Closet 
Locks,  six  dos"  of  such  Chist  Locks  you  sent  last,  a  grose 
of  pad  Locks;  about  Cw*  of  puf  dishes,  a  grose  of  put"^ 
plates,  fifty  w'  of  puf^  basons;  ...  a  dos°  of  hansome 
Chairs  of  y'^  New  fashion  for  a  Chamber  and  a  hansome 
looking  glass  for  y*  same,  and  Curtains,  etc.,  for  a  bed  of 
y*  same,  and  Case  of  draws.  Send  me  brass  and  Locks  and 
henges  for  six  Scritors  and  Ditto  for  y^  same  for  Case  of 
Draws ;  six  dos"  p*^  of  buts  for  henges  of  tables  ...  a  Dos" 
of  Choice  Chist  locks  that  cannot  be  pickt ;  .  .  .  foure 
dos"  p'  of  Snipe  bells  to  hang  small  Chists ;  .  .  .  send  two 
marble  Stons  to  make  two  haths  one  of  six  feet  Long  and 
fifteen  Inches  wide ;  .  .  .  The  hight  of  y'  Chamber,  where 
y*  bed  is  to  be  put,  between  y*  flore  and  y'  plasturing,  is  8 
feet  and  4  Inches  .  .  .  You  have  here  inclosed,  a  draught 
of  a  chamber,  I  desire  you  to  geet  mock  tapestory  or  pant*^ 
canvis  lay**  in  oyle  for  hangings  for  y*  same,  and  send  me 
.  .  .  My  wife  would  Chuse  that  y'  Curtains  for  y*  bed  sent 
for  in  this  foregoing  Letter  Should  be  of  a  Crimson  Couler, 
if  Fashionable."  (Other  instances  of  individual  importa- 
tions are  given  on  pages  374—76  and  380—82.) 

Two  of  Sir  William's  chairs  are  shown  on  page  333. 
They  are  now  in  the  Ladd  House,  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 
These  were  of  carved  oak  frames  filled  in  with  cane  and 
cane  seats,  as  the  back  still  indicates.      This  style  of  chair 

33a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

has  frequently  appeared  in  our  former  pages.  It  belongs  to 
the  seventeenth  century,  but  like  other  styles  it  overlapped. 
Sir  William  Pepperell  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 


CARVED    OAK    CHAIRS 
Originally  owned  by  Sir  William  Pepperell }  now  in  the  LadJ  Huu«e,  Portunouth,  N.  H.     See  pge  331 


New  Englanders.  He  was  born  in  Kittery,  Me.,  in  1696, 
and  died  there  in  1759.  He  was  the  only  native  of  New 
England  created  a  baronet.  His  title  was  the  reward  for 
his  service  at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Louisburg  in    1745. 


333 


thp:  furniture  of  our  forefathers 

His  house  was  richly  furnished,  his  table  was  resplendent 
with  massive  plate,  costly  mirrors  and  paintings  adorned  his 
walls,  his  cellar  was  filled  with  choice  wines,  and  his  park 
stocked  with  deer. 

When  his  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  married  to  Natha- 
niel Sparhawk,  her  father  built  a  handsome  residence  for 
her  and  furnished  it  in  the  richest  style.  In  accordance 
with  the  English  fashion,  a  certain  colour  predominated  in 
each  chamber.  The  bed  and  window  curtains  were  of  red, 
blue,  yellow  and  other  coloured  damask  and  each  room  was 
designated  the  Red,  the  Blue,  the  Yellow,  or  the  Green 
Room.  To  this  bright  use  of  colour  in  colonial  days  we 
have  frequently  drawn  attention. 

The  interesting  bed  shown  on  page  32715  a  mahogany 
field  bed  which  so  frequently  appears  in  the  homes  of  the 
period.  It  is  owned  by  Miss  Sherburne  and  is  in  the 
Warner  House,  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

Connecticut  preserves  the  seventeenth-century  flavour 
in  her  houses  until  many  years  after  the  new  century  has 
come  in.  Leather,  sealskin,  wooden  and  serge  chairs  are 
the  only  kinds  found  in  the  house  of  Col.  Robert  Treat 
(1710).  Eleven  years  later,  Col.  Joseph  Treat  (^2,026) 
has  only  leather  chairs;  and  a  brass  clock,  ^5-10-0,  is  his 
most  expensive  piece  of  furniture.  An  example  of  this 
clock  has  been  given  (see  facing  page  168).  John 
Hodson  (^947;  171  I )  has  a  bed  in  every  room  except 
the  hall;  the  principal  furniture  of  the  latter  being  two 
square  tables  and  eleven  high-  and  twelve  low-backed 
leather  chairs.  The  old  "cupboard"  still  lingers.  John 
Mix,  of  New  Haven  (171  2),  has  a  **  cuberd  with  ye  cloth, 
and  earthen  things  on  the  cuberds  head."  Robert  Treat, 
Jr.  ( jC 2y3^ 3  y    1 72 1  j, owns  a  "cupboard  in  ye  parlour,  glass 

334 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

case,  great  chest  in  ye  parlour,"  great  chair  carved,  and 
old  carved  cupboard. 

However,  the  old  carved  furniture  was  no  longer  being 
made;  the  chairs  especially  were  undergoing  a  great 
change.  Some  of  those  mentioned  about  1710  are  cane, 
black,  white  and  varnished.  The  change  from  the  seven- 
teenth century  appears  plainly  in  the  inventory  of  John 
Mix,  Jr.  (j^*i,254;  1722),  who  possessed  "six  crooked- 
backed  chairs,  two  great  ditto,  six  straight-backed  ditto, 
six  tive-slat  ditto,  three  red  ditto,  and  eight  plain  ditto." 
The  straight-backed  chairs  had  turned  posts  and  front  legs; 
and  horizontal  Hat  bars  in  the  back  made  them  two-,  three-, 
four-,  or  five-slat  chairs.  Samuel  Clark  of  Milford 
(j^'6,666;  1725)  had  leather,  black,  red  and  white  chairs. 
The  red  chair  was  made  of  white-wood  and  painted.  We 
also  find  red  calfskin  and  red  Russia-leather  chairs  men- 
tioned. Black  chairs  were  very  general  now  ;  and  the 
Turkey-work  chair  was  as  popular  as  ever.  Mary  Prout 
( 1724)  owned  six  new  Turkey-work  chairs,  six  older  ditto, 
and  three  lower  ditto.  She  also  owned  twenty-three  others, 
including  two  great  chairs.  There  was  thus  considerable 
variety  in  height.  The  old  square  timber  chairs  survived 
in  many  houses,  and  chairs  with  cane  in  the  back  lasted 
far  into  the  century. 

The  great  mass  of  furniture  in  Connecticut  was  en- 
tirely of  native  manufacture.  Oak  was  largely  neglected, 
the  favourite  woods  being  cedar,  white-wood,  cherry  and 
black  walnut.  In  1726,  a  rich  cabinet-maker  of  New 
Haven  has  cedar,  cherry  and  white-wood  boards  only  in 
his  shop.  The  chests,  cases,  and  desks  of  drawers  that 
were  made  in  such  large  numbers  now  often  had  brass 
mounts.      The  applied    black  ornaments   and    knobs  were 

335 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

falling  into  disuse,  and  were  labeled  "old-fashioned"  in  the 
inventories.  In  1726,  drops  and  escutcheons  are  valued  at 
fourpence  each.  Mahogany  made  slow  progress  in  public 
favour  in  Connecticut.  With  the  exception  of  a  stray 
piece  here  and  there,  it  shows  no  sign  till  well  on  towards 
the  middle  of  the  century.  Job  Smith  of  New  Haven 
(^8,907;  1743),  did  not  possess  a  single  piece  of  ma- 
hogany. His  most  expensive  articles  were  two  escritoires 
at  ^'9  each,  a  black  walnut  case  of  drawers  at  ^7,  and  an 
eight-day  clock  at  ^^30.  His  chairs  were  leather,  wooden, 
black,  and  covered  with  shalloon.  By  this  time,  tables  such 
as  those  facing  page  64  and  on  page  97  were  no  longer 
made.  Mr.  Smith  had  an  "  old-fashion  "  one  that  was  valued 
at  four  shillings  only,  whereas  his  three  oval  tables  came 
to  ^^7-5-0.  His  fellow  townsmen,  Lieutenant  Stephen 
Trowbridge  (^^3,010;  1744),  Michael  Todd  (^^7,028; 
1745),  Elihu  Yale  (^8,189;  1748),  and  Theophilus  Mun- 
son  (^6,868;  1749),  also  lacked  any  mahogany  among 
their  household  goods.  At  that  date,  men  of  their  posi- 
tion and  relative  wealth  in  other  colonies  would  have  been 
behind  the  times  without  at  least  mahogany  chairs  and  tables. 
Lieutenant  Trowbridge's  chairs  were  great,  old  slat,  plain, 
slat-bannister,  crown-back,  three-slat  and  four-slat.  The 
woods  are  not  mentioned.  The  only  other  pieces  of  cabi- 
net-ware of  any  importance  are  a  case  of  drawers,  ^15,  and 
a  case  of  drawers  of  cherry-tree  on  frame  ^^i  2-1 0-0. 
Michael  Todd  had  a  case  of  drawers  with  steps,  £6^  and 
a  button-wood  oval  table,  ^^2-15-0;  but  nothing  else  of 
note.  Elihu  Yale's  chairs  were  old  black,  black  slat-back, 
and  white.  He  had  seven  tables,  including  a  "vernish 
table"  (lacquered)  and  an  old  table  with  oak  leaf.  He 
owned  a  valuable  chest  of  drawers  and  several  old-fashioned 

336 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

chests,  one  with  a  drawer,  drop  and  escutcheon.     The  de- 
scription of  the  latter  answers  to  that  shown  on  page  271. 
Cherry    was  used    extensively   in   the  construction    of 
tables,  chairs  and  chests  and  cases  of  drawers.     Kalm  has 


CROWN-BACK  CHAIR 
Owned  by  the  Whipple  family,  now  by  the  Mines  Burnett,  EimwoeJ,  Cambridge,  Mass.     See  page  338. 


explained  the  virtues  and  popularity  of  this  wood  (see  page 
285).  A  low  case  of  drawers  and  a  chest  of  drawers  of 
Connecticut  make  appear  on  pages  339  and  395.  They 
are  of  dark  cherry  and  are  both  ornamented  with  the  sun- 
flower. Both  pieces  are  owned  by  Thompson  S.  Grant, 
Esq.,  Enfield,  Conn. 

In  the  middle  of  the  century,  the   prevailing  styles  of 


337 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

chair  still  include  black,  white  and  cane-back,  as  well  as 
leather  and  Turkey-work  bottoms.  A  good  deal  of  cherry 
appears  side  by  side  with  white-wood.  Warham  Mather 
(jf  2,511;  1745)  had  several  pieces  of  cherry,  one  of 
which  was  a  large  table — no  mahogany  is  mentioned. 
Theophilus  Manson  (^6,868;  1749)  has  two-slat,  three- 
slat,  four-slat  and  crown-back  chairs.  He  also  owns  a 
case  of  drawers  on  a  frame  with  feet,  ;^20,  and  a  desk, 
j^i2  ;  but  again  no  mahogany. 

In  the  same  year,  we  find  black  chairs  with  straight 
backs,  flat-backed  ditto,  and  black  crook-back  ditto.  We 
also  gather  that  white-wood  board  costs  threepence  per 
foot.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Whittelsey  (^21,641  —  14—10; 
1752)  has  walnut,  cherry  and  white- wood  furniture,  but 
no  mahogany.  Among  other  things,  he  has  six  cherry- 
tree  chairs,  ^9  ;  a  black  walnut  chest  of  drawers  and  table, 
^54  ;  a  desk,  ^^23  ;  a  white-wood  coloured  table,  £'2.-\  5-0, 
and  a  coloured  square  table,  ^^i-io-o. 

The  two-,  three-,  four-,  and  five-slat  chairs  were  the 
same  that  were  called  two-back,  four-back,  etc.,  in  the 
Boston  inventories.  The  crown-back  chairs  belonging  to 
Lieutenant  Trowbridge  and  Theophilus  Manson  had  lately 
come  into  fashion  here.  The  shape  of  the  back,  which 
somewhat  closely  follows  the  outline  of  a  crown,  gave  this 
chair  its  name.  In  common  with  so  many  other  designs 
of  carved  walnut  and  mahogany  frames  of  that  period,  this 
is  often  attributed  to  Chippendale.  One  variety  of  the 
crown-back  chair  appears  on  page    123,  and  another    on 

page  337- 

The  latter  is  an  early  and  plain  form,  and  shows  the 
crown  in  part  of  the  splat  as  well  as  the  top  of  the  back. 
This  is  one  of  two  chairs  originally  owned  by  the  Whip- 

338 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

pie  family.  They  belong  to  the  Misses  Burnett,  grand- 
daughters of  Mr.  James  Russell  Lowell,  at  Elmwood,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

Although   no   mahogany   is  mentioned,  the  household 


LOW  CASE  OF  DRAWERS,  OR  DRESSING-TABLK  (DARK  CHERRY) 
Owned  by  Thompton  S.  Grant,  E«).,  Enfieki,  Conn.     S«e  page  337. 


goods  of  Joseph  Bryan,  of  Milford  (^^1,062  ;  1752),  show 
some  pretensions  to  elegance.  Of  his  thirty-six  chairs,  six 
had  worked  bottoms,  six  were  of  Turkey-work,  three 
white  and  two  dozen  black.  An  oval  table,  £\o\  a  tea- 
table,  £\ ;  a  large  waxwork  (lacquer)  case,  ^^  20 ;  and  a 
case  of  drawers  and  a  dressing-table,  ^{'33,  are  the  mOvSt 
noticeable  pieces.     The  very  expensive  case  of  drawers  was 


339 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

probably  made  by  a  native  cabinet-maker  ;  and  some  of  the 
cost  was  due  to  brass  mounts,  the  value  of  which  we  can 
gather  from  the  contemporary  inventory  of  John  Miles 
(^{'4,804;  1755).  He  owned  one  set  of  brass  for  a  chest 
of  drawers,  ^3,  and  another  for  a  desk,  ;;^io.  He  seems 
to  have  worked,  like  so  many  of  his  brethren,  almost 
exclusively  in  cherry  and  white-wood.  His  shop  con- 
tained 202  ft.  of  the  latter  at  sixpence  per  foot,  and  384 
ft.  of  cherry  at  175^   pence  per  foot. 

On  page  341  are  shown  two  mahogany  pieces  owned  by 
Miss  Marion  P.  Whitney,  New  Haven,  Conn.  The  chair 
was  originally  the  property  of  Governor  William  Pitkin 
(1694— 1769),  governor  of  Connecticut  in  1766—69.  The 
model  shows  a  curious  combination  of  Anglo-Dutch  legs 
and  frame-work  with  the  Gothic  tracery  in  the  splat  that 
came  into  fashion  in  England  towards  the  middle  of  the 
century.  The  table  is  square  with  falling  leaves  supported 
by  legs  that  may  be  pulled  in  or  out.  These  are  slightly 
cabriole  and  end  in  hoof  feet.  An  oval  table  of  the  same 
period  appears  on  page  379. 

The  Providence  inventories  tell  the  same  story  as  those 
of  New  Haven.  There  was  plenty  of  comfort,  and  the  houses 
were  thoroughly  well  furnished,  but  the  cabinet-ware  was 
of  native  make,  except  in  rare  instances.  Among  the  many 
estates  of  more  than  one  thousand  pounds,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing: Major  W.  Crawford,  ^^3,551,  1720;  Benjamin 
Tillinghast,  ^4,776,  1726;  Job  Harris,  ^1,615,  1729; 
Captain  Nicholas  Power,  ^^1,751,  1734;  Captain  William 
Walker,  ^^2,498,  1742;  Arnold  Coddington,  ^^3,640, 
1742;  Stephen  Arnold,  ^^2,127,  1743;  Peter  Thatcher, 
^1,121,  1745;  Captain  William  Tillinghast,  ^4,290, 
1753;    Captain   Ebenezer    Hill,  ^^'3,3 14;   David    Rutting- 

340 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


MAHOGANY    TABLE    AND    CHAIR 

The  Latter  originally  belonged  tu  Governor  William  Fitkin.   Now  owned  by  Miss  Marion  P.  Whitney, 
New  Haven,  Conn.     See  page  340. 


borg,  j^'1,425;  John  Mawney,  ^^9,050;  Rev.  John  Check- 
ley,  ;^  2, 5  30,  and  George  Dunbar,  j^2, 261,  all  1754;  Oliver 
Arnold,  ^1,021,  1771.  In  none  of  these  inventories  is  a 
single  piece  of  mahogany  recorded,  with  the  exception  of 
John  Mawney,  who  possessed  a  solitary  desk  of  that  wood 
valued  at  ^^40.  When  the  woods  are  mentioned,  which, 
relatively,  is  very  seldom,  we  find  the  same  as  in  Connec- 
ticut :  pine,  walnut,  white-wood,  maple  and  cherry.  Peter 
Thatcher  and  David  Ruttingborg  both  made  furniture ;  the 
former  had  maple  boards  in  his  shop,  and  the  latter  had 
pine.  The  old  "cupboard"  gives  place  at  an  early  date  to 
the  case  of  drawers.  The  latter  and  the  escritoire  formed 
the  most  decorative  pieces  of  furniture  in  the  rooms,  and 
often  attained  high  values.  Arnold  Coddington's  desk  was 
worth  ;t  20.  It  was  mounted  with  brass,  as  was  all  the  new 
furniture  of  that  kind.      Mr.  Coddington  had  a  lot  of  brass 

J4« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

for  sale  for  the  use  of  native  cabinet-makers.  It  comprised 
three  dozen  Dutch  rings  and  escutcheons  at  three  shillings 
a  dozen ;  three  gross  of  extra  desk  brass  handles  at  eighteen 
shillings  a  dozen,  with  ten  dozen  escutcheons  to  match,  at 
fourteen  shillings  a  dozen;  a  gross  of  brass  handles  at  fif- 
teen shillings  a  dozen,  with  seven  dozen  escutcheons  to 
match  at  eleven  shillings  a  dozen ;  ten  dozen  brass  handles 
at  twelve  shillings  a  dozen,  with  six  and  a  half  dozen 
escutcheons  at  eight  shillings  a  dozen ;  some  odd  brass  han- 
dles; and  a  fine-ward  desk-lock  valued  at  one  guinea. 

The  case  of  drawers  was  low  and  high.  To-day  the 
two  varieties  are  popularly  known  as  "low-boy"  and 
"  high-boy,"  but  I  have  never  come  across  these  terms  in 
any  inventory  of  the  seventeenth  or  eighteenth  century.  In 
the  Providence  inventories,  the  distinction  between  chest 
of,  or  with  drawers,  and  the  case  of  drawers  is  clearly 
maintained.  For  example,  John  Mawney  (1754)  owns  a 
maple  low  case  of  drawers  at  twelve  and  a  chest  with  drawers 
at  eight  pounds.  Benjamin  Tillinghast  also  has  a  chest  with 
drawers  at  three,  and  a  case  of  drawers  with  glasses  upon  it  at 
seven  pounds.  The  top  of  the  case  of  drawers  was  therefore 
adorned  with  china  and  glass  as  the  head  of  the  cupboard, 
which  it  superseded,  had  been.  The  case  of  drawers  first 
appeared  probably  about  1 690,  and  made  rapid  strides  into 
popularity.  It  is  found  in  the  majority  of  comfortable 
homes  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the 
native  workmen  soon  construct  it  of  black  walnut,  cherry, 
white-wood,  maple  and  even  pine.  When  made  of  white- 
wood,  or  pine,  it  was  usually  coloured:  the  favourite  tint 
was  Indian  red,  but  sometimes  these  woods  were  stained, 
grained  and  dappled  to  imitate  maple  and  other  woods. 
Some  of  these  cases  of  drawers,  although  presenting  a  good 

342 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

outward  appearance,  are  of  somewhat  flimsy  workmanship, 
and  show  signs  of  cheap  construction.  The  drawers  sometimes 
are  ill-fitting.  A  very  fine  example  of  the  high  case  of  draw- 
ers, belonging  to  Mr.  George  Dudley  Seymour,  of  New 
Haven,  is  shown  on  the  frontispiece.  This  is  made  of 
white-wood  and  was  originally  stained  Venetian  red.  It  is 
now  coloured  a  deep  brown,  and  is  adorned  with  brass  drop- 
handles. 


LOW  CASE  OF  DRAWERS 

Originally  owned    by  Governor  Dudley,  now    by  the  Concord    Antiquarian   Society,  Concord.     See 
page  368. 

Another  six-legged  high  case  of  drawers  appears  facing 
page  390.  It  is  preserved  in  the  Whipple  House, 
Ipswich,  Mass. 

A  low  case  of  drawers,  or  dressing  table  with  drawers, 
of  cheap  wood  painted  black,  such  as  was  made  by  the 
native  joiners,  faces  page  326.  It  is  owned  by  the  Essex 
Institute,  Salem,  Mass.  Another,  owned  by  the  Concord 
Antiquarian  Society,  is  represented  on  page  367  and  one, 
owned  by  Mrs.  Wainwright,  of  Hartford,  faces  page  322. 

343 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

When  mahogany  came  into  general  use,  it  was  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  case  of  drawers,  side  by  side  with 
the  other  woods.  By  that  date,  the  legs  had  become  slen- 
der, and  had  been  reduced  to  four  in  number.  The  low 
case  of  drawers  probably  never  had  more  than  four  legs, 
although  six-legged  so-called  "low-boys"  are  occasionally 
shown ;  but  these  are  really  only  the  lower  part  of  the  high 
case  of  drawers  which  rested  upon  it,  and  which  has  been 
lost.  The  low  case  had  two  or  more  rows  of  drawers ;  the 
lower  part  of  the  high  case  generally  had  one  only.  The 
illustrations  will  make  this  clear.  If  the  upper  parts  of  the 
high  cases  of  drawers  facing  pages  313  and  390  were  re- 
moved, there  would  be  a  sense  of  incompleteness  in  the  lower 
parts  that  is  not  felt  with  the  low  cases  given  on  pages  339 
and  343,  and  especially  on  page  331.  On  page  345  ap- 
pears the  lower  part  of  a  six-legged  case  of  drawers  owned 
by  Mrs.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Before  leaving  Providence,  we  should  note  the  hetero- 
geneous collection  of  cabinet-ware  found  in  the  houses  as 
we  approach  the  Revolution.  Oliver  Arnold  (1771)  will 
serve  as  an  instance.  Of  mahogany  he  owned  a  high  case 
of  drawers,  two  square  tea-tables,  a  china  table,  and  a  4^  - 
ft.  square-leaved  table;  of  black  walnut,  a  desk  and  book- 
case and  a  4-foot  table ;  of  cherry,  a  china  table ;  of  maple, 
a  5-foot  table,  a  square  and  an  oval  tea-table;  a  4-foot,  a  4- 
foot  round,  and  an  oval  table,  and  six  framed  chairs;  and 
of  pine,  a  long  table.  Other  furniture,  the  wood  of  which 
is  not  specified,  includes  an  old  high  case  of  drawers,  an 
older  ditto,  two  small  tables  and  a  candlestand,  a  small 
stand-table,  six  framed  green,  two  high-backed  and  two 
low  Windsor,  six  framed-seat  banistered,  six  banistered,  six 
four-back,  two  round,  and  a  great  chair. 

344 


s. 


CO 


^ 

^ 

c 

*• 

.•^ 

c 

-A 

s 

Q 

o 

jT 

o 

i4  :5 

Z  '*« 

^   i 

o{  ^ 

H  >» 

O^ 

). 

S    != 

■■■M 

-3    ^ 

^^^^k 

J  -« 

^^^H^ 

W  O 

^  « 

>    ^ 

■^  ■ 

« i:^ 

™| 

Z-^ 

M 

« 

<^ 

j^/S^^ 

>j^ 

'k^^B      ; 

J   . 

j^^H^B  * 

V 

"^^^^SH. 

e 

^^fc 

e 

'>■ 

>: 

>^| 

e 

5: 

Cx 


r    \ 


00 


"BEAUFAIT" 

From  a  house  in  Vernon  Place,  Boston.     Now  in  the  Old  State  House,  Boston,  Mass. 

See  page  353. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

In  our  survey  of  this  period  before  the  Revolution,  if 
we  examine  the  full  contents  of  a  typical  home  every  ten 
years  or  so,  we  shall  be  able  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  the  suc- 
cessive changes  and  developments  of  household  furniture. 
The    possessions  of  Governor  Phipps   (see  page   230)  are 


PART   OF    A    SIX-LEGGED    HIGH    CASE    OF     DRAWERS 
Owned  by  Mn.   Wainwright,   Hartford,   Conn.       See  page  344. 


representative  of  the  best  that  was  in  use  during  the  first 
decade  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His  chests  of  drawers 
with  tables-and-stands  and  dressing-boxes  were  of  the  new 
style  we  have  just  been  considering.  In  his  house  also,  we 
still  find  the  closet  which  was  a  sort  of  alcove,  or  small 
annex  to  a  larger  chamber.  We  constantly  come  across 
this  in  the  better  class  of  house  all  through  this  period. 
Robert    Bronsden    (^3,252;     1702)    had   a   closet   to  his 

S4S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

dining-room  that  contained  a  table,  his  pistols  and  some 
books.  In  the  closet  of  the  Chamber  over  Hall,  there  were 
three  Turkey-work  chairs,  a  table  with  a  calico  carpet,  a 
picture  and  a  sword.  In  the  closet  to  the  Chamber  over 
Dining  Room,  there  was  a  bedstead  with  curtains  and 
valance,  besides  a  black  frame  looking-glass;  while  the  room 
itself  contained  only  a  square  table,  six  Turkey-work  chairs, 
some  things  on  the  mantel-tree,  and  brass  hearth-ware. 

A  view  of  a  comfortable  Boston  home  of  1707  is 
gained  from  that  of  Katharine  Eyre,  widow  of  John  Eyre, 
who  is  about  to  be  married  to  Wait  Winthrop.  Her  hall 
is  furnished  with  two  oval  tables,  a  dozen  cane  chairs  and  a 
great  chair,  a  couch  and  quilt,  a  looking-glass,  a  clock 
worth  ^iiy  and  brass  andirons,  shovel  and  tongs.  In  the 
hall  chamber,  which  is  the  most  expensively  furnished 
room  in  the  house,  there  is  a  handsome  bedstead  hung 
with  china  curtains  trimmed  with  India  silk.  A  quilt  of 
the  same  lies  upon  the  feather  bed,  as  well  as  a  pair  of  fine 
large  blankets.  She  owns  an  olive  wood  cabinet  valued  at 
£z^.  Six  Turkey-work  chairs,  a  cane  couch,  a  table  and  a 
looking-glass  complete  the  furniture  of  this  attractive  apart- 
ment, rendered  still  more  so  by  a  number  of  books  worth 
j^i  5.  The  fire-place  is  adorned  with  brass;  the  light  is  de- 
rived from  candles  in  brass  candlesticks.  The  "kitchen 
chamber  "  is  furnished  with  a  feather  bed  and  bedstead, 
hung  with  "searge  curtains  and  vallens."  A  chest  with 
drawers,  worth  ^^7,  stands  in  this  room,  and  there  are 
seven  cane  chairs  and  couch,  a  looking-glass,  andirons, 
tongs  and  shovel.  Six  Turkey-work  chairs  form  the  seats 
in  the  Little  Chamber,  where  the  large  bedstead  is  also 
hung  with  "searge  curtains  and  vallens."  Green  curtains 
are  in  "ye  chamber  over  the  kitchen  chamber"    and  cur- 

346 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

tains  of  that  colour  decorate  the  bedstead.  In  "ye  little 
room"  there  were  nine  cane  chairs,  two  little  tables,  a 
looking-glass,  and  andirons,  tongs,  etc.  A  feather  bed 
seems  to  have  been  the  only  furniture  of  the  "  second 
chamber  over  ye  little  room."  One  of  the  bedsteads  is  dec- 
orated with  **a  suit  of  white  callicoe  curtains  and  vallens 
lac'd."  Mrs.  Eyre  possessed  plate  amounting  to  j[i6g  and 
a  considerable  amount  of  table  and  bed  linen.  Her  estate 
totalled  j^'5,328-12-2,  and  of  this  ^183-15-0  was  in  fur- 
niture. 

The  tables  show  little  change  during  these  early  years. 
Oak,  pine  and  black  walnut,  with  occasional  cedar  and 
maple,  are  the  chief  woods.  Captain  Andrew  Wilson 
(1710)  has  a  chestnut  table,  and  Thomas  Gilbert  (1719)  a 
large  oval  one  of  beech.  Square,  round  and  eight-square 
are  common  shapes,  but  the  oval  is  even  more  favoured, 
and  the  octagon  gradually  disappears.  The  slate  table  is 
not  rare. 

Between  1700  and  1720,  we  meet  with  the  following 
varieties  of  chairs:  seal-skin,  Turkey-work,  leather,  rush, 
cane,  wicker,  patchwork,  black,  black  matted,  black  bass, 
black  cane,  flag,  knit,  low-back,  two-back,  three-back,  four- 
back,  five-back,  mohair,  bass,  blue  serge,  green-flowered 
serge,  cane-back  with  bass  bottoms,  cane-back  with  leather 
bottoms,  blue  china,  flat-back,  plate-back,  straight-back,  and 
crook-back.  The  four-back  is  the  same  chair  that  is 
called  tour-slat  elsewhere  during  this  period.  Examples  of 
the  four-  and  five-back  (or  slat)  chair  have  already  been 
given  on  page  87.  The  straight  is  reprevsented  on  f>age  4; 
and  varieties  of  the  flat-back  chair,  which  had  a  flat  splat^ 
appear  on  pages  39,  65  and  85.  An  early  example  of  the 
crook-back  chair  is  shown  on  page  i  o  i  and  another  variety 

147 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

on  page  184.  The  tendency  to  stuff  the  seats  of  the  chairs 
and  cover  them  with  more  or  less  rich  material,  in  addition 
to  Turkey-work  and  leather,  was  rapidly  increasing.    Com- 


^f^' 


RUSH-BOTTOM     CHAIR 
Owned  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick,  Boston,  Mass.      See  page  349. 


fort  was  no  longer  largely  left  to  the  ministry  of  cushions. 
The  consequence  is  that  by  1720  cushions,  except  for  win- 
dow-seats, have  largely  disappeared  from  the  inventories. 
We  find  them  sometimes  retained,  however,  with  rush-  and 
bass-bottomed  chairs.     The  elbow  chair  is  often  specified 

348 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"with  cushions."  The  elbow  and  the  easy  chair  are  dis- 
tinct :  the  arms,  back  and  seat  of  the  latter  were  all  up- 
holstered, the  commonest  form  being  the  "wing  chair"  (see 
facing  page  184  and  page  293).  Charles  Shepreeve 
(1722)  owned  six  elbow  chairs,  ^^4-1 0-0;  and  one  easy 
chair,  £^z.  The  rush-bottom  chair  represented  on  page 
348  and  owned  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick,  Boston, 
Mass.,  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  specimen.  The  legs 
and  stretchers  are  survivals  of  an  earlier  period,  while  the 
top  rail  is  "embowed"  and  the  jar-shaped  splat  pierced 
(see  page  277).  A  rush-bottom  corner  chair,  sometimes 
called  a  "roundabout"  chair,  with  similar  legs,  is  shown 
on  page  364.  Joint-stools  are  still  in  use  in  some  houses. 
Bedsteads,  high  and  trundle,  still  maintain  their  place,  and 
are  adorned  with  a  variety  of  bright  curtains,  hangings  and 
rugs  or  quilts  that  generally  match  the  window  curtains, 
and  often  the  chair-covers,  in  hue  and  material.  Varieties 
of  the  folding-bed  are  met  with  more  frequently.  Elisha 
Hopkins  (171 2)  owns  a  press  bedstead  worth  ninety  shil- 
lings; and  an  old  one  belonging  to  Samuel  Jacklen  (171 8) 
is  set  down  at  fifteen  shillings.  The  latter  was  hung  with 
old  homespun  curtains  and  valance. 

It  has  already  been  shown  how  difficult  it  is  to  get 
precise  definitions  of  terms  in  the  dictionaries  that  were 
printed  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is 
only  when  we  find  both  the  chest  with  drawers  and  the 
case  of  drawers  in  the  same  inventory,  that  we  can  be  sure 
that  these  differed  in  kind.  Even  during  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  the  distinction  between  the  trunk  and  the 
chest  was  not  uniformly  maintained  in  the  Boston  inven- 
tories. The  chest  and  the  chest  with  drawers  were  some- 
times covered  with  leather  like  the  trunk;  and  the  trunk 

349 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

had  drawers  and  sometimes  feet  like  the  chest.  Thus 
Ambrose  Daws  (1706)  had  an  old  leather  chest  with  draw- 
ers; and  Josias  Byles  {1708)  and  Captain  Andrew  Wilson 
(1710)  each  owned  a  trunk  with  feet.  An  early  chest 
with  drawers  of  this  period  that  may  also  have  been  classi- 
fied as  a  trunk  with  drawers,  faces  page  344.  It  is  inter- 
esting as  showing  the  first  step  in  the  development  of  the 
chest  of  drawers  from  the  most  elementary  form  of  chest 
(see  pages  215—6).  This  trunk  is  covered  with  red  leather 
and  studded  with  brass  nails  arranged  to  form  a  border  of 
rose,  thistle  and  shamrock.  Upon  the  top  is  the  mono- 
gram A.  R.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  travelling  trunk 
of  Queen  Anne,  and  was  purchased  in  Guilford,  Surrey,  by 
Mr.  Charles  Wyllys  Elliott  in  1870.  It  is  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Charles  Wyllys  Elliott,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

The  hall  shown  on  page  351  is  that  of  the  Warner 
House,  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  This  is  the  oldest  brick  build- 
ing now  standing  in  that  town.  It  was  built  in  171  8  and 
finished  in  1723  at  a  cost  of  ^6,000.  It  was  originally 
owned  by  Captain  Archibald  Macpheadris,  a  merchant  and 
native  of  Scotland,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Governor 
John  Wentworth.  Their  daughter  Mary  became  the  wife 
of  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Warner  in  1754.  Mr.  Warner  was 
one  of  the  King's  Council  and  remained  a  Tory. 

A  mahogany  low  case  of  drawers,  or  dressing-table, 
from  this  house  appears  on  page  331. 

Our  next  typical  home  is  that  of  Mr.  John  Mico,  a 
wealthy  Boston  merchant  (^11,230-17-0,  1718).  His 
house  contained  twelve  rooms,  besides  the  entry  with  stair- 
case, pantry,  cellar  and  wash-house.  The  Dining-room  con- 
tained two  tables,  six  Turkey-work  and  four  bass  chairs,  a 
looking-glass,  four  sconces,  a  good  clock  worth  ^10,  brass 

350 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


HALL  IN  THE  WARNER  HOUSE 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  built  in  1716.     See  page  350. 


andirons,  etc.,  and  glass  in  the  "  Beaufett,"  and  "earthen- 
ware in  the  closett."  The  Hall  contained  no  bedstead,  and 
seems  to  have  kept  its  character  as  a  hall.  Here  we  notice 
a  "scriptore,"  or  writing  desk,  upon  which  stand  some 
glasses;  there  is  a  chimney  table  and  a  chimney  glass,  a 
large  looking-glass,  a  tea-table  with  a  set  of  china  upon  it; 
and  sixteen  chairs  and  two  elbow  chairs  reach  the  value  of 
jf  14.  A  touch  of  elegance  is  bestowed  by  "four  sconces 
with  silver  sockets"  upon  the  walls,  and  five  cushions  lend 
comfort  to  the  chairs.  Among  the  ornaments  is  a  flower- 
pot. The  firelight  flickers  upon  brass  andirons,  etc.  The 
next  important  room  is  the  "  Hall  Chamber."   A  luxurious 


351 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"silk  bed  and  furniture"  worth  ^^30,  a  couch,  squab  and 
pillow,  a  table,  dressing-box  and  two  stands,  "a  table 
and  twilight,"  a  chest  of  drawers,  two  elbow  chairs  and 
cushions,  seven  mohair  chairs  and  brass  hearth-ware 
make  it  evident  that  the  eighteenth  century  is  present 
here.  Seven  pictures,  a  "lanthorn,"  and  twelve  leather 
buckets  for  readiness  in  case  of  fire,  of  course,  hang  in 
the  "Staircase  and  Entry."  A  Little  Room,  made  cheer- 
ful by  a  log  blazing  on  the  brass  andirons,  is  furnished 
with  a  square  table,  nine  leather  chairs  and  a  number  of 
books.  In  the  "Chamber  over  the  Little  Room"  we  find 
six  Turkey-work  and  two  cane  chairs,  a  square  black  table, 
and  an  iron  chest.  "A  set  of  mantle  tree  ware"  brightens 
the  chimney-piece,  and  beneath  it  the  fire  burns  upon 
the  usual  brass  hearth  furniture.  The  chamber  over  the 
dining-room  contains  a  looking-glass,  a  table  and  chairs,  a 
couch  and  squab,  andirons,  and  a  bed  hung  with  white 
curtains.  The  chamber  over  the  kitchen  has,  in  addition 
to  the  bedstead  a  chest  with  drawers,  six  old  chairs,  an  old 
looking-glass  and  dogs,  etc.  In  the  kitchen  we  find  six 
leather  chairs,  an  oak  and  a  pine  table,  a  looking-glass  and 
323  ounces  of  plate.  In  the  four  upper  chambers  there  is 
a  mat  for  a  floor  worth  ^^2,  a  press,  a  screen,  a  little  bed 
and  suit  of  blue  curtains,  a  fine  case  of  drawers  and  chairs, 
trunks,  bedsteads,  etc.  Altogether  there  are  more  than 
sixty-eight  chairs  in  Mr.  Mico's  house. 

A  new  feature  of  the  parlour  or  dining-room  that  came 
into  general  use  during  these  years,  and  occurs  in  the  above 
inventory,  was  the  corner  cupboard,  known  as  the  buffet, 
variously  spelt  beaufet,  beaufett,  beaufait,  bofet,  etc.  On 
its  shelves,  glass,  china  and  earthenware  were  displayed. 
It  was  not  a  movable,  but  was  fixed  in    a   corner  of  the 

35* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

room,  rounding  out  the  angle  and  producing  a  most  pleas- 
ing effect.  The  word  does  not  appear  in  the  early  dic- 
tionaries of  Phillips,  Kersey,  Cocker,  and  others,  but  in 
1748,  Dyche  describes  buffet  as  "a  handsome  open  cup- 
board or  repository  for  plate,  glass,  china,  etc.,  which  are 
put  there  either  for  ornament  or  convenience  of  serving 
the  table."  In  1738,  Mrs.  Mary  Blair's  "Bofett"  con- 
tained twenty-three  enamelled  plates,  five  burnt  china  ditto, 
a  pair  quart  china  mugs,  seven  breakfast  bowls,  six  smaller 
ditto,  a  large  sugar-pot,  twenty-six  china  cups,  twenty-eight 
china  saucers,  four  china  tea-pots,  one  pair  small  flowered 
stands  and  a  small  server,  one  glass  double  cruet,  a  hearth 
brush,  and  a  pair  of  blue  and  white  china  mugs.  The 
total  value  was  ;f  32-3-0. 

In  William  Clarke's  "Bofet"  (1742)  were  twelve  china 
plates,  a  delft  pot  and  cover,  and  large  and  small  china 
bowls.  In  1744,  a  "Hall  Bofet"  contains  a  blue  shagreen 
case  with  eight  knives  and  eight  forks  with  silver  caps,  and 
eight  silver  spoons;  another  case  with  six  ivory-handled 
knives  and  forks  with  silver  "ferrils";  and  six  other  white- 
handled  knives  and  forks,  besides  china  and  glass. 

The  "beaufait"  facing  page  352  is  from  the  house  in 
Vernon  Place,  Boston.  It  was  built  in  1696  by  William 
Clough,  who  sold  the  house  and  land  to  John  Pulling  in 
1698.  The  latter  left  it  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Richard  Pitcher, 
who  sold  it  to  William  Merchant,  brother-in-law  of  Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson.  It  was  purchased  in  1758  by  Caotain 
Fortescue  Vernon  and  remained  in  his  family  for  about 
seventy-five  years.  The  "beaufait"  is  ornamented  with 
cherubs'  heads  in  the  spandrils  and  the  hollowed  shell.  A 
handsomer  example  of  the  shell  appears  in  the  "boufet" 
from  the  Barton  homestead  on  page  354.     This  was  made 

351 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

in  1750.  It  was  presented  to  the  Worcester  Society  of 
Antiquity,  Worcester,  Mass.,  by  Mr.  Bernard  Barton  in 
1894. 

The  one  represented   on  page  363   has  the  advantage 


"  BOUFET  "  FROM  THE  BARTON  HOMESTEAD,  WORCESTER 
Made  in  1750.      Now  owned  by  the  Worcester  Society  of  Antiquity,  Worcester,  Mass.      See  page  353. 

over  the  other  in  standing  in  the  spot  for  which  it  was 
made.  This  is  from  the  Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  Mass. 
It  is  furnished  with  glass  doors  and  is  filled  with  valuable 
old  china. 

The  buffet  from  the   Peabody   House,  Boxford,  Mass., 

354 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

torn  down  in  1863,  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Edwin  N.  Pea- 
body,  in  Salem. 

Though  the  rooms  at  the  beginning  of  the  century 
were  generally  heated  with  open  tires,  yet  stoves  sometimes 
appear  in  the  inventories.  These  were  generally  of  Dutch 
manufacture  and  were  obtained  from  New  York.  In  1709, 
Joseph  Bridgham  has  a  large  Dutch  stove  worth  ten  pounds. 
In  1712,  Elisha  Hopkins  has  one  valued  at  ninety  shillings. 
German  stoves  also  were  made  by  Christopher  Sauer,  of 
Germantown,  and  then  came  the  Franklin  stove.  The 
economical  advantage  of  coal  as  a  fuel  was  being  felt;  and 
the  papers  announce  the  arrival  of  Newcastle  coal  with  in- 
creasing frequency  about  1740.  "Cole  grates"  frequently 
appear  in  the  inventories  before  that  date:  Samuel  White's 
parlour    is    supplied    with    "a    grate    for    coal,    j{'6,"    in 

1736. 

New  styles  of  grates  were  constantly  being  introduced, 
but  the  old  andirons  still  existed  side  by  side  with  them. 
In  1760,  "a  new  imported  and  neatly  polished  coal  grate" 
is  advertised;  and,  in  1764,  "a  handsome  china  stove,  suit- 
able for  a  gentleman's  hall  or  any  large  room."  The  front 
of  the  hearth  was  frequently  a  marble  slab,  and  the  fire- 
place was  often  tiled  in  the  Dutch  fashion.  In  1761,  "a 
set  of  tiles  for  chimney  "  is  advertised ;  and  Dutch  chim- 
ney tile  from  three  shillings  a  dozen,  in  1772.  The  old 
portable  braziers,  or  chafing-dishes,  are  still  in  use  and  va- 
rious kinds  of  "furnaces"  are  found.  In  1739,  a  kitchen 
contains  an  old  brass  furnace  of  forty-three  pounds  weight, 
worth  only  three  shillings !  New  England  was  now  man- 
ufacturing brass-ware  of  her  own,  and  undoubtedly  intro- 
duced new  patterns  in  accordance  with  her  progressive 
spirit  in  all  handiwork.     Jonathan   Jackson  was   a  brazier 

3SS 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

who  died  in  1736,  and  following  his  imported  wares  comes 
a  list  of  "  Goods  of  New  England  manufacture."  It  includes 
brass  hand-basons,  candlesticks  and  knockers,  tools,  pots, 
skillets,  kettles,  plates,  saucers,  spoons,  stirrups,  spurs,  sta- 
ples, cast  dogs,  brass-headed  dogs,  wrought  dogs,  iron  backs 
and  warming-pans.  The  dogs'  heads  that  had  given  their 
name  to  the  object  had  given  place  to  other  designs.  One  of 
these  we  know  was  t\\Qjieur-de-lySy  for  Captain  John  Welland 
has  a  pair  of  "  flower  de  luce  dogs  "  in  his  hall  chamber. 
The  customary  tongs,  shovel  and  bellows  (the  latter  fre- 
quently with  a  brass  nose  or  spout)  are  supplemented  with 
the  poker  on  the  advent  of  coal.  William  Clark  has  tongs 
and  poker  for  his  dining-room  lire  in  1742.  About  1760, 
we  find  steel  fire-irons  coming  in.  They  then  seem  to  be 
more  fashionable  than  those  with  brass  handles.  John 
Morley  (1765)  had  two  sets  of  steel  andirons,  shovel  and 
tongs  appraised  at  forty-five  shillings,  and  four  other  sets, 
the  most  expensive  of  which  amounted  to  six  shillings. 
Lieutenant-Governor  Andrew  Oliver  (1774)  also  had  steel 
andirons,  etc.,  in  his  best  living-room ;  in  others,  he  had 
brass  hearths,  and  dogs  with  brass  tops. 

The  mantel-piece  is  ornamented  with  glass  and  china 
images.  Earthenware,  "  old  things,"  images  and  cups  and 
"mantel  tree  setts"  are  some  of  the  ornaments  recorded 
(see  page  359).  Thomas  Down  (1709)  has  furniture  for 
two  mantel  shelves,  £1  ;  and  Captain  John  Myles  (171  i) 
two  muslin  mantel  cloths.  Varieties  multiplied  as  the  cen- 
tury advanced.  Bronzes  were  scarce,  but  china,  glass, 
earthenware  and  alabaster  cups,  vases  and  images  were 
plentiful.  Carved  work  is  sometimes  in  evidence  also. 
An  entry  in  1738  tells  of  a  small  carved  image  sitting  in 
a   chair ;  and   in    1 744,  two  wooden  images  cost  twenty' 

3$« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

four  shillings,  which  price  implies  more  than  rough  carv- 
ing. Though  the  porcelain  came  from  abroad,  there  was 
*\  certain  amount  of  pottery  made  here  by  skilled  immi- 
rants.  In  1738,  the  will  of  a  Boston  potter  named  Cur- 
tice Champnoine  is  recorded.  Some  of  the  ornaments  in 
use  before  the  middle  of  the  century  are  as  follows  :  a  large 
china  woman,  fifteen  alabaster  parrots,  four  china  images, 
two  line  large  china  women,  earthen  goblets,  two  china 
men  on  horseback,  two  small  china  women,  two  china 
toads  with  men  on  their  backs,  two  china  cows  with  men, 
two  china  friars,  two  china  pillars,  two  china  foots,  four 
alabaster  images,  delft  flower  pots,  a  figure  and  five  busts. 
The  busts  most  in  favour  were  those  of  great  statesmen  and 
especially  of  military  leaders  ancient  and  modern,  such  as 
Julius  CiEsar,  Alexander  the  Great,  Prince  Eugene  and  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough.  Shakespeare  and  Milton  are  also 
favourite  subjects. 

Above  the  "  mantle  tree  "  thus  adorned,  was  either  a 
picture  or  a  mirror.  The  chimney-picture  was  often  to  be 
found  in  the  parlour.  Among  many  instances,  Henry 
Franklin  owns  "a  picture  for  a  chimney"  in  1725. 
Another  article  used  to  decorate  the  space  above  the  man- 
tel-piece in  some  rooms  was  that  quaint  piece  of  home- 
made art-work  known  as  the  sampler.  It  is  evident  that 
some  of  these  were  highly  prized.  One,  at  least,  is  worthy 
of  advertisement,  for,  in  1757,  the  Boston  Gazette  announces 
that  Samuel  Smith,  at  his  Vendue  house  on  Coleman's 
Wharf,  will  sell  a  gorgeous  bed  complete,  and  a  "  chimney- 
piece  imitating  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise  wrot  with  a 
needle  after  the  best  manner." 

We  have  seen  that  the  ladies  of  other  colonies  beautified 
their  homes  with  needlework  which  was  highly  prized,  and 

3S7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

that  the  art  of  the  needle  was  taught  in  New  York  by  pro- 
fessional adepts  {see  page  308).  It  is  not  surprising  to  find 
similar  advertisements  in  Boston.  In  1755,  the  Boston 
Gazette  announces  that  "  Mrs.  Hiller  still  continues  to  keep 
school  in  Hanover  Street,  a  little  below  the  Orange-Tree, 
where  young  Ladies  may  be  taught  Wax-work,  Transpar- 
ent and  Filligree,  painting  on  glass,  Quillwork  and  Feather- 
work,  Japanning,  Embroidering  with  silver  and  gold.  Ten- 
stitch,  likewise,  the  Royal  Family  to  be  seen  in  waxwork." 

In  1763,  Jane  Day  also  had  a  school  in  Williams  Court, 
Boston,  where  she  taught  "  all  kinds  of  needle-work,  em- 
broidery in  gold  and  silver,  all  kinds  of  coloured  work, 
Dresden,  etc."  In  1764,  Nathaniel  Oliver  opened  a  school 
for  boys  near  the  Drawbridge,  and  Mrs.  Oliver  taught 
needlework. 

The  productions  of  skilled  fingers  were  highly  valued ; 
as  early  as  171 2,  Nathaniel  Byfield,  of  Bristol,  owned  a 
piece  of  needlework  wrought  upon  white  satin,  worth  no 
less  than  jC^. 

The  importance  of  the  New  England  kitchen  occurs 
from  the  fact  that  in  many  cases  it  was  the  living-room. 
It  changed  but  little  from  that  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Two  views  of  the  kitchen  of  the  Concord  Antiquarian 
Society  facing  page  315  and  page  354  show  the  furniture 
and  utensils  common  to  almost  every  home. 

Early  in  the  century,  the  mirror  had  a  black  or  gilt 
frame.  Sometimes  the  price  reached  a  high  figure,  as  the 
carving  grew  more  elaborate.  Towards  the  middle  of  the 
century,  chimney-glasses  with  carved  walnut  or  gilt  frames 
ranging  in  value  from  thirty  to  eighty  pounds  are  not 
uncommon.  They  were  generally  supplied  with  arms  for 
candles.      Nathaniel  Cunningham  (1748)  owned  one  with 

358 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  gilt-edged  walnut  frame,  j^'120;  another  with  walnut 
frame  and  brass  arms,  ;^37-io-o;  and  a  third  with  a  gilt 
frame.  Some  of  the  work  was  done  by  native  carvers.  A 
member  of  this  profession  was  George  Robinson,  who  left 
an  estate  of  fifteen  hundred  pounds  in  1737.  His  grand- 
daughter, Sarah  Blowers,  received  a  bequest  of  "  my  man- 
tletree  sett  of  carved  work  and  sconces."  This  was  twenty 
years  before  Chippendale's  publications  could  have  influenced 
those  engaged  on  this  kind  of  carved  work. 

One  of  the  Boston  carvers  was  a  Mr.  Burbeck.  In  the 
town  records  under  date  of  January  13,  1768,  we  read: 

"  Mr.  Burbeck,  who  carves  the  capitals  for  Faneuil 
Hall,  was  sent  for,  when  he  engaged  to  get  the  carved  work 
finished  and  put  up  before  the  latter  end  of  next  month  " 
— he  was  at  the  same  time  told  that  he  should  have  his 
pay   out   of  the  "  money   raised   by   the   present   lottery." 

The  walls  of  the  rooms  were  adorned  in  the  best  houses 
with  paintings  in  carved,  moulded  and  gilded  frames.  Black 
and  japanned  frames  also  were  common.  The  ordinary 
homes  and  halls  and  stairways  of  the  richer  class  contained 
more  mezzotints  than  any  other  kind  of  pictures.  The 
inventories  rarely  mention  the  subjects,  but  we  gather  them 
from  the  newspapers.  In  1757  we  read  in  the  Boston 
Gazette :  "  Imported  from  London  and  to  be  sold  by  Na- 
thaniel Warner  in  Fish  Street,  a  variety  of  new-fashioned 
looking-glasses  and  sconces,  and  also  a  variety  of  metzitinto 
Pictures  painted  on  glass,  double  Frames,  neatly  carved  and 
gilt,  viz.,  the  Royal  P'amily,  the  Judges  of  England,  the 
Months,  the  Seasons,  the  Elements,  very  handsome  views 
and  sea-pieces ;  the  Rakes  and  Harlot's  Progress ;  maps 
gold  leaf." 

The  more  ornate  picture  frames  were  imported  from 

3S9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATH'ERS 

London  in  most  cases,  because  the  work  there  could  be 
done  more  cheaply  than  in  Boston.  Thus  history  ante- 
dates as  well  as  repeats  itself!      In  1743,  the  Selectmen  of 


MAHOGANY  AND  GILT  MIRROR 
Owned  by  the  Talcott  family,  now  by  Mrs.   Wainwright,   Hartford.      See  page  361. 


Boston  wanted  a  frame  for  Smibert's  portrait  of  Peter  Fan- 
euil ;  they  therefore  wrote  December  7th  to  Christopher 
Kilby,  Esq.,  to  the  following  effect : 

**  We  find  upon  inquiry  that  a  frame  for  said  picture  can 
be  got   in    London   cheaper  and   better   than   with   us,   we 

360 


JAPANNED   CLOCK  CLOCK 

Fmm  the  HaHCo<k  House,  Boston.      OwneJ  by  Miss  Ma  J*  by  RicharJ  MamHiHg,   Ipsnviet,   Mass. ,  in 
Lucy  Gray  Stuttt  and  preserved  in  the  Museum  ^7^7-      No'w  in  the  Essex  hstitute, 

•f  Fine  Arts,  Btstn,  Mass.      Sre  page  Jt76.  Salem ^  Mass.     S«epagej2J. 


MAHOGANY    DUMBWAITER    AND    SQUARE    TABLE 

Oivned  by  the  Misses  Burnett,  Elm^vood,  Cambridge ,  Mass.     See  page  j62. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

therefore  beg  the  favour  of  you,  Sir,  to  procure  and  send  a 
neat  gold  carved  frame  of  eight  feet  in  length  and  five  feet 
in  width  by  the  first  ship  in  as  small  a  box  as  may  be,  as 
it  will  reduce  the  freight."  They  hoped  it  might  be 
bought  for  about  eight  guineas. 

An  exceedingly  handsome  mirror  of  the  period  is  shown 
on  page  360.  It  is  of  mahogany  and  is  profusely  orna- 
mented with  gilt.  This  belongs  to  Mrs.  Wainwright  of 
Hartford,  Conn.,  having  descended  to  her  through  the  Tal- 
cott  family. 

Tables  are  still  made  principally  of  oak  and  black  wal- 
nut ;  very  rarely  do  we  find  one  of  ash  and  chestnut.  Ma- 
hogany tables  are  very  scarce  for  many  years.  There  are 
many  estates  from  1730  to  1740  of  between  two  and  eight 
thousand  pounds  in  which  none  of  mahogany  are  recorded. 
After  1750  they  are  plentiful.  Marble  tables  of  different 
sizes  and  colours  are  advertised  in  1755;  mahogany  stand 
tables,  175H;  marble  table  with  mahogany  frame,  1760  ; 
a  neat  mahogany  bureau  table,  1 76 1  ;  and  mahogany  tables 
with  claw  feet,  1768. 

Four  tables  are  shown  facing  page  318.  One  has  al- 
ready been  described  on  page  321.  Of  the  four  specimens 
the  one  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  is  the  handsomest. 
It  was  owned  by  Silas  Deane,  first  minister  from  the  United 
States  to  PVance.  The  top  is  a  solid  piece  of  mahogany, 
measuring  38 f^  inches  in  diameter.  The  edge  is  slightly 
raised.  The  acanthus  is  carved  on  the  legs,  which  end  in 
dog's  feet  clasping  a  ball.  Washington,  Lafayette,  Rocham- 
beau  and  Heaumarchais  are  said  to  have  taken  tea  upon  it. 
This  piece  of  furniture  is  in  the  rooms  of  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society,  Hartford.  The  table  in  the  upper  right- 
hand  corner   is  also   of  mahogany,   but   is  of  smaller  size 

361 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

than  the  one  just  described.  It  was  in  the  wedding  outfit 
of  Lois  Orne  in  1770.  This  is  now  in  the  Essex  Institute, 
Salem,  Mass.  The  table  in  the  lower  left-hand  corner  is 
of  painted  wood  and  a  piece  of  iron  is  under  each  of  the 
three  feet.  This  table  belonged  to  Nathaniel  Silsbee,  of 
Salem,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  is 
now  in  possession  of  his  descendant,  Mrs.  Edward  C.  Pick- 
ering, Observatory,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Another  table  of 
mahogany  with  falling  leaves  appears  on  page  379.  This 
belongs  to  Mrs.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.;  and  a  square 
table  owned  by  the  Misses  Burnett,  at  Elmwood,  Cambridge, 
faces  page  368,  with  a  dumb-waiter  of  mahogany,  also 
owned  by  them.  The  latter  frequently  occurs  in  the  in- 
ventories. 

The  tea-table  is  present  in  every  home  that  has  any 
claim  to  comfort.  In  the  early  part  of  the  century  it  is 
usually  made  of  oak  or  walnut,  and  the  japanned  tea-table 
is  very  general  until  mahogany  takes  its  place.  This  table 
was  lower  and  smaller  than  the  ordinary  table,  and  it  held 
nothing  but  the  tea-service  with  which  it  was  customary  to 
keep  it  set.  Tea-tables  occur  quite  early.  "  The  leaf  of 
a  tea-table  "  that  was  being  made  by  William  Howell  in 
1 71 7  shows  that  at  that  date  it  had  falling  leaves.  The 
style  changed,  for  in  i  736  John  Waldo's  tea-table,  although 
worth  twenty-five  shillings,  is  described  as  old-fashioned. 
At  that  date  japanned  tea-tables  are  numerous  and  within 
the  means  of  ordinary  people.  Fifteen  shillings  is  enough 
for  James  Jackson's  in  1735.  The  "tea-board  and  furni- 
ture "  are  nearly  always  mentioned  in  company.  About 
the  middle  of  the  century  the  India  tea-table  is  most  fash- 
ionable. One  of  these  belonging  to  Peter  Cunningham 
(1748)   is   typical   of  the   most   fashionable  equipment   in 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

vogue.  It  was  set  with  ten  china  cups  and  saucers  and  live 
handle-cups,  a  slop-basin  and  plate  beneath,  milk-pot,  tea- 
pot and  plate,  and  a  boat  for  spoons.  The  silver  spoons 
and  sugar  tongs  are  classed  separately  among  the  plate,  and 
exclusive   of   these   the   value  of  this  little   table  and  tea- 


BUFFET 
From  the  Whipple  House,  Ipswich,  Mass.      See  page  354. 


service  amounted  to  the  large  sum  of  forty  pounds.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  ten  of  the  cups  had  no  handles  and  the  live 
that  had  no  saucers  were  therefore  more  like  mugs  in 
form.  The  tea  in  this  instance  was  kept  in  "  a  shagreen 
tea-chest  with  silver  canisters  and  sugar  ditto,  ^^loo." 
Mr.    Cunningham,  therefore,  spared   no  expense    on    this 

363 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

important  feature  of  contemporary  social  life,  nor  was  he 
an  exception  ;  a  table  and  complete  set  of  china  from  j[2^ 
up  is  quite  a  common  item.  The  above  articles  were  in 
the  Great  Parlour.      In  the  Great  Chamber  up-stairs  there 


RUSH-BOTTOM    CORNKR   CHAIR 
From  the  Goodhue  family.       Now  owned  by  the   Kssex  Institute,  Salem.      See  page  349. 

is  a  **  tea  chest  with  brass  silvered  and  three  pewter  canis- 
ters," besides  a  quantity  of  china,  ornamental  and  useful. 
There  is  no  tea-table  with  the  service  spread,  because  the 
guests  were  not  entertained  here,  but  a  walnut  breakfast 
table  is  noted,  which  shows  that  the  first  meal  of  the  day 
was  often  taken  in  the  sleeping  apartments  in  wealthy 
homes.  The  frequent  presence  of  vSo  much  china  in  the 
bedrooms  of  the  period  is  thus  accounted  for.      When  ma- 

364 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

hogany  prevailed,  the  tea-table  sometimes  attained  much 
larger  dimensions.  Very  small  tea-tables  were  in  use 
until  long  after  the  Revolution. 

Black  chairs  were  in  use  for  many  years.  It  is  strange 
to  tind  this  sombre  tint  such  a  favourite  until  nearly  the 
middle  of  the  century.  Henry  Franklin  (1725)  possessed 
a  high-priced  black  chest  of  drawers,  a  black  table,  twelve 
black  bass-bottomed  chairs,  black  stands,  a  black  walnut 
escritoire  and  a  looking-glass  with  a  black  frame.  This 
room,  however,  was  exceptionally  funereal.  Thomas 
Walker  (1726)  has  a  turned,  black  glass-case,  a  looking- 
glass  in  a  black  frame,  and  a  black  chest  of  drawers  nailed. 

Black  was  usually  confined  to  the  chairs,  several  varie- 
ties of  which  were  painted  or  stained  that  hue.  Some  of 
those  recorded  are  black  frames,  black  cane,  six-backed 
black,  black  matted,  black-frame  stuffed  and  covered. 
Straw  chairs  were  also  common  during  this  period;  the  prices 
show  that  some  kinds  belonged  to  the  better  class.  James 
Jackson's  eight  open-back  chairs  with  straw  bottoms  were 
worth  seven  shillings  each  in  1735.  Other  chairs  recorded 
before  1 740  are  carved-top.  Hat-back,  crook-back,  straight- 
back,  high-back  and  low-back  leather,  red  leather,  leather 
with  banister  backs,  coloured  cane,  chairs  of  the  same  with 
the  bed  ;  damask,  slit-back,  straight  slat,  and  rush-bottom 
crooked  backwards.  All  the  kinds  mentioned  on  page 
347  still  persist,  and  cushions  sometimes  accompany  those 
with  rush  or  cane  seats.  Arthur  Savage  (j^'5,263  ;  1735) 
owned  twelve  cane  and  two  elbow  chairs,  j[,20  ;  and  twelve 
silk  cushions,  j^'8 ;  George  Bethune  (jC7f(>27  >  ^73^) 
had  an  easy  chair  covered  with  red  velvet  and  cushion, 
j[2o.  When  the  wood  is  mentioned,  it  is  most  frequently 
walnut.      In  1736,  walnut  chairs  with  leather  bottoms  arc 

365 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

appraised  at  thirty-iive,  and  with  "  stuff  bottoms  and  calico 
cases  "  at  twenty-five  shillings  each.  Mahogany  was  not 
yet  used  by  the  Boston  chair-makers.  It  is  only  just  be- 
ginning to  appear  in  the  inventories.  John  Jekyl's  front 
parlour  contains  a  table  of  that  wood,  valued  at  ^3-10-0, 
in  1733.  In  1735,  Mary  Walker  has  a  dressing-box, 
worth   only  five   shillings,  japanned ;  while  ten  pounds  is 


DRESSING-TABLE 
From  the  collection  of  the  Wayside  Inn,  Sudbury,  Mass.,  owned  by  Mr.  Lemon.      See  page  368. 


the  value  of  one  belonging  to  Captain  John  Chernock,  in 
1723.  The  term  "case"  of  drawers  seldom  occurs  in  the 
early  BovSton  inventories,  nor  is  any  distinction  drawn  be- 
tween the  high  and  low.  However,  the  chest  with  draw- 
ers and  the  carved  chests  were  now  old-fashioned,  and  the 
new  kinds  stood  on  somewhat  slender  cabriole  legs  and  were 
what  are  now  called  **  high-boys"  and  "low-boys."  Cap- 
tain yohn  Ventiman,  1724,  owns  a  "chest  of  drawers  and 
table  thereto  belonging,  £\  ;  "  and  George  Campbell,  1735, 

366 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


has  a  "black  walnut  chest  with 
drawers  and  table,  ^15."  The 
**  table  thereto  belonging  "  seems 
to  be  the  lower  part  of  the  so- 
called  *•  high-boy."  More  often 
the  description  of  this  piece  of 
furniture  is  simply  "  chest  of  draw- 
ers and  table."  We  have  already 
had  many  instances  of  this.  In 
1 709,  it  is  called  a  "  table  case  of 
drawers." 

The  low  case  of  drawers  was 
generally  used  as  a  dressing-table, 
as  some  of  the  Boston  entries  dis- 
tinctly imply.  In  1709,  we  find  a 
dressing-table  with  drawers ; 
in  1732,  Col.  William  Tailer 
has  a  table,  dressing-glass  and 
chest  of  drawers,  £20  ;  and 
in  1736,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Harward  has  a  walnut  dress- 
ing-table with  drawers.  They 
were  made  of  mahogany,  be- 
fore the  latter  date,  for  those 
who  cared  for  that  wood.  A 
good  example  with  its  original 
dressing-glass,  is  sht)wn  on 
page  331.  This  comes  from 
the  Warner  House,  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1723.  All  of  the  furniture  in  this  house  was 
imported    from    England,    and   some   of    it   at   that   date. 

Earlier  and  simpler  styles  are  shown  on  pages   366  and 

J67 


CARVED  AND  GILT  LOOKING-GLASS 
AND  A   DRESSING-TABLE 

Now  in  the  ruoim  of  the  Concord  Antiquarian 
Society,  Concord,  Man.      Sec  page  36S. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

367.  That  on  page  343,  belonged  to  Governor  Dudley  and 
( 1 647-1 720)  now  owned  by  the  Concord  Antiquarian  So- 
ciety, Concord,  has  the  plain  feet,  cusped  front  and  drop  brass 
handles  that  were  already  a  fashion  before  1700,  though 
the  styles  lasted  till  long  afterwards  in  New  England  fur- 
niture of  somewhat  simpler  form. 

Another,  from  the  Collection  of  the  Wayside  Inn,  ap- 
pears on  page  366,  and  one  from  the  Concord  Antiquarian 
Society  is  shown  on  page  367.  A  case  of  drawers  that 
answers  more  closely  to  the  description  faces  page  384. 
It  is  owned  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick,  Boston,  Mass. 

Japanned  ware  is  plentiful  all  through  this  period.  Be- 
sides clocks  and  looking-glass  frames,  we  have  tea-tables, 
"  chests  of  drawers  and  table,"  tables,  corner  tables,  waiters 
and  coffee-pots.  Some  of  these  reach  high  prices.  Not 
only  black,  but  blue  japanned  ware  sometimes  occurs  in  the 
inventories:  in  1730  a  blue  japanned  looking-glass  costs 
three  pounds.  Oriental  goods  are  exceedingly  scarce  in 
the  homes:  quite  an  exception  is  the  presence  of  an  India 
cabinet  such  as  belongs  to  Edward  Lyde  in  1724. 

An  example  of  a  japanned  looking-glass,  owned  by  the 
Essex  Institute,  faces  page  326. 

It  was  not  only  on  the  tea-table,  buffet  and  mantel- 
shelf that  china  and  glass  were  displayed.  The  dressing- 
table  also  had  its  full  share  of  ornaments  of  this  nature. 
Captain  John  Welland's  hall  chamber  (1737)  contained  a 
handsome  "  black  walnut  case  of  drawers  and  table,"  and 
on  it  stood  no  fewer  than  fifty-five  pieces  of  china.  William 
Clarke's  escritoire  (1742)  was  even  finer,  and  it  was  orna- 
mented with  eight  pounds*  worth  of  china.  When  the 
escritoire  was  not  surmounted  by  a  bookcase,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  ornament  its  flap  top  with  busts,  or  china-ware. 

368 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


The  escritoire  or  "  scree- 
tore"  (which  has  been  already 
described  on  page  220)  in- 
creases in  ornamental  import- 
ance as  the  years  pass.  It  is 
made  of  all  woods,  and  the 
styles  are  almost  endless.  Some 
of  these  announced  in  the 
newspapers  are  as  follows : 
Screwtore,  1725;  a  beautiful 
mahogany  desk  and  book- 
case, 1755;  red  cedar  desk, 
1757;  handsome  maple  desk, 
1758;  fine  scretore,  1759; 
mahogany  bureau  with  a 
writing  table,  1762;  elegant 
bookcase  with  glass  doors, 
1768. 

The  term  bureau,  gener- 
ally spelt  "  buroe,"  appears  in 
New  England  about  1720. 
A  "  bureau  desk  "  is  among 
the  possessions  of  the  deceased 
David  Craigie  in  1721.  It 
was  valued  at  seventy  shillings. 
In    1739,   a   "buroe    table" 

(eleven  shillings)  occurs;  and  another   in    1751  ;  a  "  buro 
table  with  drawers"  costs  fifteen  pounds  in  1747. 

The  desk  and  bookcase  shown  above  is  of  appletree  and 
black  walnut.  It  was  owned  by  Governor  John  Wentworth 
and  was  in  his  home  on  Pleasant  Street,  Portsmouth,  N. 
H.,  in  1767.   When  his  effects  were  confiscated,  it  became 

369 


(KJVERNt)R    JOHN    WKN  TWORTH  S 
DESK    AND    BOOKCASE 

Owned  by   hu  great-great-grandnephew,  Mr. 
Charles  E.    Wentworth,     Portnnouth,    N.    H. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  property  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Haven  and  remained  in 
his  home  on  Pleasant  Street  until  1897.  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^ 
passed  to  his  great-grandson,  Mr.  Alexander  H.  Ladd,  who 
gave  it  to  his  daughter,  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Wentworth,  the  great-great-grandnephew  of  Governor 
John  Wentworth. 

Another  very  handsome  escritoire  faces  page  374.  It 
belonged  to  Mr.  Joseph  Waters,  of  Salem,  and  is  now  in 
the  home  of  his  grandson,  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem, 
Mass.  This  is  of  rich  San  Domingo  mahogany  and  fur- 
nished with  fine  brasses. 

The  chest  of  drawers  became  heavy  and  massive  after 
the  middle  of  the  century  and  the  larger  pieces  were  in 
two  parts,  like  the  high  cases  of  drawers.  They  were 
then  called  "  chest-upon-chest."  They  often  had  orna- 
mental carved  tops  like  the  bookcases.  Many  varieties 
are  advertised.  It  will  be  noticed  that  even  when  the 
lower  part  was  a  table  with  drawers,  the  distinction  be- 
tween case  and  chest  is  not  maintained.  A  few  of  these 
advertised  read :  "  Very  handsome  new  black  walnut 
chest  of  drawers  and  table  and  beautiful  mahogany  case  of 
drawers  with  an  Ogier  top  and  brassed  off  in  the  best 
manner,"  1756;  "a  beautiful  mahogany  case  of  drawers 
with  a  compass  top;  "  also  a  "  manogany  case  of  drawers 
with  an  O  G  top,"  1757;  a  mahogany  case  of  drawers 
with  an  arched  head,  1759;  a  very  neat  black  walnut 
case  of  drawers,  1759;  a  new  fashion  case  of  drawers,  a 
neat  mahogany  case  of  drawers  and  chamber  table  and 
a  large  handsome  mahogany  case  of  drawers  and  table, 
1760.  The  great  mahogany  wardrobes  were  also  being 
constructed  now,  for  in  the  latter  year  a  "  large  mahog- 
any clothes  press  with  three  draws "  is  advertised  for  sale, 

370 


Inlaid  with  satin  wood. 


MAHOGANY  LIQUOR  CASE 
Oxned  by  Mr.  IValur  Uosnur^  H'ethersfield,  Conn.     See  page  380. 


KZRA  RliM.KVS  WRII  ING  CHAIR 

Afterwards  used  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  and  now  owned  by  the  Concord  Antiquarian 

Society,  Concord,  Mass.     See  page  398. 


MAHOGANY   BEDSTEAD 

With  balL-and-claiu  feet  and  old  hangings.      Owned  by  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society, 

Concord  y  Mass.      See  page  j86. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

A  very  handsome  mahogany  chest-upon-chest  is  rep- 
resented on  this  page.  There  are  nine  drawers  alto- 
gether, the  top  central   one   being   ornamented    with  the 


MAHlKiANY    CHESl-UPON-CHtsr    OK    DRAWERS 
Owned  by   Mrs.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn. 

outspread  fan.  The  brass  escutcheons  are  very  decorative. 
This  piece  belonged  to  the  Talcott  family  and  is  now 
owned  by  Mrs  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.  Another 
example  of  a  chest-upon-chest  occurs  on  page  397. 

371 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  first  piece  is  of  the  same  period  as  the  beautiful 
desk  shown  facing  page  340.  The  latter  is  of  rich  mahog- 
any very  dark  in  colour  and  is  furnished  with  handsome 
brass  escutcheons.     The  desk  has  four  drawers. 

Captain  John  Bonner,  in  1722,  published  "The 
Town  of  Boston  in  New  England,  Engraven  and  Printed 
by  Fra:  Dewing  and  sold  by  Captain  Bonner  and  William 
Price  against  ye  Town  House."  On  the  margin  of  the 
plan  was  printed  the  following:  "Streets,  42  ;  Lanes,  36; 
Alleys,  22;  Houses,  near  3,000,  1,000  Brick,  the  rest 
Timber;  near  12,000  people." 

This  plan  helped  to  adorn  the  walls  of  many  an  entry, 
and  frequently  appears  in  the  inventories  as  "  a  prospect  of 
the  city  of  Boston." 

Neal,  who  published  his  history  about  1720,  says: 
"Their  customs  and  manners  are  much  the  same  with  the 
English:  Their  grand  festivals  are  the  day  of  the  annual 
election  of  magistrates  at  Boston,  and  the  commencement 
at  Cambridge,  when  business  is  pretty  much  laid  aside,  and 
the  people  are  as  cheerful  among  their  friends  as  the  Eng- 
lish are  at  Christmas.   .   . 

"In  the  concerns  of  civil  life,  as  in  their  dress,  tables, 
and  conversation,  they  affect  to  be  as  much  English  as 
possible;  there  is  no  fashion  in  London  but  in  three  or 
four  months  is  to  be  seen  in  Boston.  In  short,  the  only 
difference  between  an  Old  and  New  Englishman  is  his  re- 
ligion." 

Turning  now  to  a  typical  home,  that  of  Col.  Wil- 
liam Tailer  (j^8,366-i9-c> ;  1732),  we  notice  that  the  fur- 
niture in  his  Hall  consists  of  6  elbow  chairs,  a  dozen  cane 
elbow  chairs,  9  old  chairs,  a  walnut  table,  a  small  table, 
and  a  teaboard  and  furniture;   two  pairs  of  old-fashioned 

37a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

andirons,  tongs,  and  shovels  show  that  there  are  two  fires 
here;  and  there  are  a  hammock,  6  maps,  and  a  great  deal 
of  glaSvS,  including  3  dozen  wine  glasses. 

In  the  Back  Parlour  there  are  3  tables  of  old  oak,  one 
large  and  one  small  walnut,  8  old  chairs  and  an  old  clock, 
a  black  looking-glass,  1 5  old  pictures  on  the  walls,  and 
china,  etc.,  in  the  closet.  The  Bedroom  has  in  it  a  bed- 
stead, which,  with  its  furniture,  is  only  worth  ^{'7-15-0; 
an  old  evscritoire  worth  ^^'3,  two  old  looking-glasses,  6 
cane  chairs  and  "6  new-fashion  chairs,"  an  easy  chair,  two 
bass  bottom  stools,  another  escritoire  of  walnut,  also  worth 
j[2'y  ^^  ol^  carpet,  and  shovel,  tongs  and  andirons. 

In  the  Best  Chamber  we  see  a  table  and  dressing-glass 
and  chest  of  drawers  valued  at  ^^  20.  The  6  chairs  are  of 
damask  and  there  is  a  joint-stool.  Brass  andirons,  etc.,  and 
10  pictures  add  brightnevss.  The  Rubb'd  Chamber  has  a 
bedstead  with  damask'd  curtains  and  a  feather  bed  upon  it 
weighing  a  hundred  pounds.  There  is  a  handsome  cabi- 
net here  worth  j[j,  and  an  oak  table  valued  at  i  3  shill- 
ings. A  small  looking-glass,  a  curtain  for  a  field  bed, 
worth  ^3-10-0,  4  alabaster  pieces,  valued  at  j[2,  and  16 
pictures  complete  the  furniture  of  this  room. 

About  1735,  John  Oldmixion  remarks:  "The  Con- 
versation of  the  Town  of  Boston  is  as  polite  as  most  of  the 
Cities  and  Towns  of  England  ;  many  of  their  merchants 
having  traded  into  Europe  and  those  that  stayed  at  home 
having  the  advantage  of  society  with  travelers.  So  that  a 
gentleman  from  London  would  almost  think  himself  at 
home  in  Boston  when  he  observes  the  numbers  of  people, 
their  houses,  their  furniture,  their  tables,  their  dress  and 
conversation,  which,  perhaps,  is  as  splendid  and  showy  as 
that  of  the  most  considerable  tradesman  in  London." 

373 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

At  this  period,  the  famous  Hancock  House  on  Beacon 
Hill  was  being  built  {1737),  and  until  it  was  demolished  a 
few  years  ago,  it  was  the  last  of  the  great  mansions  stand- 
ing that  could  show  what  the  stately  homes  of  old  Boston 
were  like.  This  house  was  built  by  Thomas  Hancock, 
son  of  the  Rev.  John  Hancock,  the  kitchen  of  whose 
house,  now  owned  by  the  Lexington  Historical  Society,  is 
shown  facing  page  155,  and  a  bedroom  facing  page  358. 

Mr.  Hancock's  idea  was  to  beautify  his  home  without 
as  well  as  within,  and  accordingly  he  sent  to  London  for 
choice  fruit  trees,  "  dwarf  trees  and  Espaliers,  two  or  three 
dozen  yew  trees,  hollys  and  jessamin,"  vines,  seeds  and 
tulip  roots,  which,  however,  did  not  thrive  in  the  cold, 
bleak  winds  of  Boston.  In  1737,  he  sent  for  "  380  squares 
of  best  London  crown  glass,  all  Cutt  Exactly  18  Inches 
long  and  1 1  Inches  wide  of  a  Suitable  Thickness  to  the 
Largeness  of  the  Glass,  free  from  Blisters  and  by  all  means 
be  careful  it  don't  wind  or  worp;  100  Squares  Ditto,  12 
Inches  Long,  8^  wide  of  the  Same  Goodness  as  above." 
"On  January  23,  1737—8,  we  find  him  writing  from 
Boston  to  Mr.  John  Rowe,  Stationer,  London,  as  follows: 

"  Sir,  Inclosed  you  have  the  Dimensions  of  a  Room  for 
a  Shaded  Hanging  to  be  Done  after  the  Same  Pattern  I 
have  sent  per  Capt.  Tanner  who  will  Deliver  it  to  you. 
It's  for  my  own  House  and  Intreat  the  favour  of  you  to  Get 
it  Done  for  me  to  Come  Early  in  the  Spring,  or  as  Soon  as 
the  nature  of  the  Thing  will  admitt.  The  pattern  is  all 
was  Left  of  a  Room  Lately  Come  over  here,  and  it  takes 
much  in  ye  Town  and  will  be  the  only  paper-hanging  for 
Sale  here  wh.  am  of  opinion  may  Answer  well.  There- 
fore desire  you  by  all  means  to  get  mine  well  Done  and 
as  Cheap  as  Possible,  and  if  they  can  make  it  more  Beau- 

374 


L-. 


MAHOGANY  SF.CRKI  AKV  AM)  IUX)KCASI. 
ff'ith  original  brasses.   In  the  house  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  ff^aters,  Salem,  Mass.   See  page  370. 


JAMES    BOWDOIN'S    DESK 

OnuneJ  by  the  American  Antiquarian  Society y  Worcester,  Mats.     See  page  j88. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

tifull  by  adding  more  Birds  flying  here  and  there,  with 
Some  Landskips  at  the  Bottom,  Should  like  it  well.  Let 
the  Ground  be  the  Same  Colour  of  the  Pattern.  At  the 
Top  and  Bottom  was  a  narrow  Border  of  about  2  Inches 
wide  wh.  would  have  to  mine.  About  3  or  4  Years  ago 
my  friend  Francis  Wilks,  Esq.,  had  a  hanging  Done  in  the 
Same  manner  but  much  handsomer  Sent  over  here  from 
Mr.  Sam  Waldon  of  this  place,  made  by  one  Dunbar  in 
Aldermanbury,  where  no  doubt  he,  or  some  of  his  suc- 
cessors may  be  found.  In  the  other  parts  of  these  Hang- 
ings are  Great  Variety  of  Different  Sorts  of  Birds,  Peacocks, 
Macoys,  Squirril,  Monkys,  Fruit  and  Flowers,  etc.  But 
a  Greater  Variety  in  the  above  mentioned  of  Mr.  Waldon 's 
and  Should  be  fond  of  having  mine  done  by  the  Same 
hand  if  to  be  mett  with.  I  design  if  this  pleases  me  to 
have  two  Rooms  more  done  for  myself.  I  Think  they 
are  handsomer  and  Better  than  Painted  hangings  Done  in 
Oyle,  so  I  Beg  your  particular  Care  in  procuring  this  for 
me,  and  that  the  patterns  may  be  Taken  Care  ofl^  and  Re- 
turn'd  with  my  Goods." 

He  is  still  adding  to  his  decorations  in  1740,  for  on 
March  22,  he  writes : 

"  I  pray  the  favour  of  you  to  Enquire  what  a  pr.  of 
Capitolls  will  cost  me  to  be  Carved  in  London,  of  the 
Corinthian  Order,  i6»^  inches  one  Way  and  9  y*  Other, — 
and  to  be  well  Done." 

Mr.  Hancock  was  one  of  those  wealthy  and  fashionable 
citizens  who  was  not  satisfied  with  the  ordinary  articles 
made  here,  or  even  imported  for  general  sale.  He  is  con- 
stantly writing  for  furniture  and  table  ware.  For  example, 
he  orders,  "  i  Box  Double  P'lint  (Jlass  ware,  6  (^lart  De- 
canters,   6    Pint   do.,    2    doz.    handsome   new   fash**   wine 

S75 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Glasses,  6  pair  Beakers,  Sorted,  all  plain,  2  pr.  pint  Cans, 
2  pr.  yi  pint  do.,  6  Beer  Glasses,  1 2  Water  Glasses,  and  2 
Doz.  Jelly  Glasses." 

On  December  20,  1738,  he  sends  to  Mr.  Wilks  this 
order,  which  is  of  especial  interest  to  us,  inasmuch  as  the 
clock  in  question  appears  facing  page  360  : 

"  I  Desire  the  favour  of  you  to  procure  for  me  and  Send 
with  my  Spring  Goods  a  Handsome  Chiming  Clock  of  the 
newest  fashion, — the  work  neat  &  good,  with  a  Good  Wal- 
nutt  Tree  Case  Veneer'd  work,  with  Dark  lively  branches, 
— on  the  Top  insteed  of  Balls,  let  there  be  three  handsome 
Carv'd  figures.  Gilt  with  burnished  Gold.  I'd  have  the 
Case  without  the  figures  to  be  10  foot  long,  the  price 
not  to  Exceed  20  Guineas,  &  as  it's  for  my  own  use,  I  beg 
your  particular  Care  in  buying  of  it  at  the  Cheapest  Rate. 
I'm  advised  to  apply  to  one  Mr.  Marmaduke  Storr  at  the 
foot  of  Lond"  Bridge, — but  as  you  are  best  Judge  I  leave 
it  to  you  to  purchase  it  where  you  think  proper." 

The  handsome  clock  facing  page  360  was,  in  all  prob- 
ability, the  one  selected,  for  upon  its  dial  the  maker's  name 
reads:  "  Marm**  Storrford  of  London  Bridge."  The  case, 
however,  is  japanned.  This  clock  was  purchased  from 
the  Hancock  house  in  1793,  by  the  wife  of  the  Honoura- 
ble William  Gray,  of  Boston,  and  is  now  owned  by  Miss 
Lucy  Gray  Swett,  of  Boston.  It  is  preserved  in  the  Mu- 
seum of  Fine  Arts,  Boston. 

Mr.  Hancock  lived  in  the  home  he  had  built  and  fur- 
nished with  so  much  pleasure  until  his  death  in  1764, 
when  his  nephew,  John,  became  its  proprietor.  A  portrait 
of  the  latter  by  John  Singleton  Copley  hung  over  the 
mantelpiece  in  the  dining-room,  i  7x25  feet,  that  was  deco- 
rated with  moulded  panels ;   and  portraits  of  Thomas  Han- 

376 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

cock  and  his  wife,  Lydia,  by  the  same  painter,  also  were 
upon  the  walls.  In  one  of  the  large  wings  was  a  line  ball- 
room. 

A  sideboard  belonging  to  the  above  John  Hancock  is 
shown  on  this  page.  This  piece  is  now  in  the  rooms  of 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass.  Its 
date  is  considerably  later  then  this  period. 

Another  handsome  home  was  that  belonging  to  Edward 


MAHOGANY    SIDEBOARD 
Owned  by  John  Hancock,  now  bv  thr  American   Antiijuarian   Society,  Worcester,  Man. 

Bromrteld,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Boston,  According 
to  an  authority,  the  Bromrield  House,  built  in  1722,  "was 
of  three  stories,  and  richly  furnished  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  last  century.  There  were  large  mirrors  in  carved 
mahogany  frames  with  gilt  mouldings  ;  and  one  apartment 
was  hung  with  tapestry  representing  a  stag  hunt.  Three 
steep  riights  of  stone  steps  ascended  from  Beacon  Street  to 
the  front  of  the  mansion ;  and  behind  it  was  a  paved  court- 
yard above  which  rose  successive  terraces  filled  with  flow- 
ers and  fruit  trees." 

377 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

And  still  another  famous  mansion  was  that  belonging 
to  the  celebrated  Sir  Charles  Henry  Frankland,  famous  for 
his  romance  with  Agnes  Surriage.  His  Boston  house  "  was 
built  of  brick,  three  stories  high  and  contained  in  all 
twenty-six  rooms.  A  spacious  hall  ran  through  the  centre, 
from  which  arose  a  flight  of  stairs  so  broad  and  easy  of 
ascent  that  Frankland  used  to  ride  his  pony  up  and  down 
with  ease  and  safety.  The  parlours  were  ornamented  with 
fluted  columns,  elaborately  carved,  and  richly  gilded  pilas- 
ters and  cornices;  the  walls  were  wainscotted  and  the 
panels  embellished  with  beautiful  landscape  scenery;  the 
mantelpieces  were  of  Italian  marble  and  the  fireplaces  of 
the  finest  porcelain,  which  exhibited  views  of  singular  ex- 
cellence. The  floor  of  the  eastern  parlours  was  laid  in 
diamond-shaped  figures,  and  had  in  the  centre  a  unique  and 
curious  tessellated  design,  consisting,  it  is  said,  of  more  than 
three  hundred  kinds  of  wood,  as  mahogany,  ebony,  satin- 
wood,  etc.,  encircling  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Clarke 
family." 

Mrs.  Mary  Blair  died  in  1738  with  a  personalty  of 
^^28, 232-1 5-10.  Her  furniture  is  elegant  and  costly. 
Her  Front  Lower  Room  is  evidently  warmed  by  two  fires, 
for  there  are  two  pairs  of  dogs,  one  of  brass,  the  other 
small  with  brass  heads ;  the  windows  are  shaded  with 
**  blinders,"  and  at  night  the  candles,  held  in  two  pairs  of 
elegant  sconces  and  in  an  old-fashioned  standing  candle- 
stick, furnish  light.  There  are  twelve  cane  chairs  valued 
at  two  pounds  each,  with  an  expensive  couch  and  squab  to 
match,  an  oval  walnut  table,  a  small  tea  table,  and  a  clock 
and  case  worth  ^^40.  In  the  **  bofett  "  she  has  quite  a 
collection  of  china.      (Seepage  353.) 

In    the    Middle     Room,    we    find    three    tables,    oval, 

378 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

smaller  oak  oval,  and  small  mahogany  ;  there  are  twelve 
red  leather  chairs  and  a  "two  armed  chair;"  a  looking- 
glass  ;  a  pair  of  small  gilt  sconces,  a  **  scrutore  for  decan- 
ters," a  "smaller  do.,  with  handles,"  glass  candlesticks,  and 
much  china. 

Five  maps    hang   in    the  "  outer   entry,"  while  in   the 
"  inner   entry  "   we   find  a  glass   lantern,  three   pictures  in 


TABLE  WITH   FALLING  LEAVES 
Owned  by  Mn.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.     See  page  36a. 

gilt  frames,  nine  large  maps,  and  a  pair  of  leather  huckets. 

There  are  four  bedrooms.  In  one  is  a  green  silk  bed 
with  satin  quilt,  feather  bed  and  sacking-bottom  bedstead, 
valued  at  ^^'120;  a  handsome  looking-glass;  a  dressing- 
table  ;  ten  cane  chairs  and  two  elbow  cane  chairs ;  and  brass 
hearthware. 

"  A  clouded  stuff  bed  "  with  chintz  quilt  lined  with 
silk,  cotton  counterpane,  feather  bed,  two  pillows,  bolster 
and  sacking-bottom  bedstead,  stands  in  the  "  Middle  Cham- 

S79 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ber."  A  chest  of  drawers  with  twenty-three  pieces  of 
china  upon  it,  a  table  and  dressing-box,  seven  cane,  two 
leather,  two  broken  and  two  armed  chairs,  constitute  the 
other  furniture.  There  are  brass  andirons,  etc.,  ten  pictures 
in  gilt  frames,  and  two  portraits  of  Prince  George  and 
Queen  Anne  in  gilt  frames. 

Two  laced  beds  are  in  the  Front  Upper  Chamber,  which 
also  contains  a  large  Holland  tea-table,  a  chest  of  drawers, 
twelve  old  Turkey-work  and  four  cane  chairs,  four  pictures, 
a  looking-glass,  and  a  pair  of  large  blankets. 

In  the  upper  Chamber  over  the  shop,  there  are  a  bed- 
stead and  bed,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  Holland  table,  an  old 
trunk,  five  other  trunks,  one  of  which  is  sealskin,  a  second 
bedstead  with  sacking-bottom,  a  looking-glass  and  thirty- 
nine  dozen  bottles. 

A  tea-table,  two  folding-boards,  and  two  bass-bottom 
chairs  are  in  the  kitchen.  The  shop  is  filled  with  dry-goods, 
and  Mrs.  Blair  owns  plate  valued  at  ^'432-15-7^  . 

Cases  with  bottles,  numbering  from  six  to  a  dozen,  oc- 
cur very  often  in  the  inventories.  A  handsome  liquor  case 
of  mahogany,  inlaid  with  satinwood,  faces  page  370.  It 
is  equipped  with  crystal  bottles.  This  belongs  to  Mr. 
Walter  Hosmer,  Wetherslield,  Conn. 

When  Peter  Faneuil  succeeded  to  his  uncle's  fortune 
in  1738  and  became  lord  of  the  sumptuous  house  on  Bea- 
con and  Somerset  Streets,  Boston,  he  sent  almost  immedi- 
ately to  Lane  and  Smithurst,  of  London,  for  "a  handsome 
chariot  with  two  sets  of  harness  with  the  arms  as  enclosed 
on  the  same  in  the  handsomest  manner." 

The  wealthy  Boston  merchant  writes  for  glass  and 
china  and  orders  "silver  spoons  and  forks  with  three 
prongs";  these  he  wants  engraved  with  the  Faneuil  arms, 

380 


THK   Fl'RNITURK  OF  OUR   FORFFATHRRS 

and  says:  "Let  them  be  very  neat  and  handsome."  He 
also  sends  for  candlesticks,  which  he  wishes  "  very  neatly 
made  and  by  the  best  workmen ;  let  my  arms  be  engraved 
on  each  of  them  and  let  them  be  sent  me  by  my  brother; " 
and  in  order  to  insure  the  size  of  the  candlestick,  he  sends 
a  piece  of  wax  candle  as  a  sample.  Another  piece  of  silver 
that  he  orders  is  a  punch  bowl  "to  hold  from  six  quarts 
to  two  gallons  and  made  after  the  newest  fashion  with  the 
family  crest  on  it." 

**  Six  lignum-vitae  chocolate  cups  lined  with  silver  "  is 
another  order  sent  to  London.  At  his  death  these  were 
valued  at  ^{'3. 

Lane  and  Smithurst  soon  have  another  demand,  this 
time  for  **  a  copper  warming-pan  and  half  a  dozen  largest 
and  best  white  blankets  for  the  best  chamber,  with  pud- 
ding pans  for  the  kitchen  ;"  and  for  use  in  the  latter  he 
sends  for  "  the  latest  best  book  of  the  several  sorts  of  cook- 
ery, which  pray  let  be  of  the  largest  character  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  maids'  reading." 

His  tablecloths  and  napkins  are  made  especially  for  him 
by  John  Cossart  &  Sons  of  France. 

The  following  letter  addressed  to  John  Caswell  shows 
that  P'aneuil  occasionally  studied  economy  even  if  he  was 
anxious  to  keep  up  with  the  latest  European  fashions.  He 
writes :  *•  This  asks  the  favour  of  you  when  you  arrive  in  Lon- 
don to  dispose  of  a  dozen  silver  knife  and  fork  handles  of 
mine,  wch.  you  have  therewith,  for  my  best  advantage  and 
procure  for  me  a  shogreen  case  with  a  dozen  of  new  knives 
and  forks  of  a  handsome  silver  handle  and  the  best  blades 
you  can  get  made  in  London,  for  my  own  use,  with  room 
in  the  case  for  a  dozen  of  spoons,  the  same  size  and  fashion 
with  one  sent  also  by  you  for  a  pattern.      Pray  let  the  case 

381 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

be  the  same  with  that  Mr.  Baker  sent  me  lined  with  a  red 
velvet,  wch.  stands  in  my  dining  room.  As  for  the  blades 
of  the  old  knives,  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  them  made  into 
Oyster  Knives,  wch.  may  be  easily  done,  being  shortened 
and  ground  down." 

The  furniture  of  Mr.  Faneuil's  house  was  of  the  most 
expensive  description.  One  room  contained  a  table  at 
twenty,  and  twelve  carved  veneered  chairs  and  a  couch  at 
one  hundred  and  five  pounds.  A  large  pier-glass  with 
candle-brackets  and  a  chimney  glass  with  the  same  came 
to  more  than  ^'i  50.  The  floor  was  covered  with  a  large 
Turkey  carpet  and  the  hearth  was  garnished  with  fine  brass 
dogs,  tongs,  shovels  and  bellows. 

The  next  room  was  furnished  with  twelve  plain  wal- 
nut-frame, leather-bottom  chairs  ;  a  mahogany  and  a  mar- 
ble table;  an  eight-day  walnut-case  clock;  a  copper  tea- 
table,  eight  cups  and  saucers,  teapot  stand,  bowl  and  sugar 
dish;  three  alabaster  stands  with  bowls ;  about  j[200  worth 
of  Delft  ware,  china  and  glass;  a  chimney-glass,  a  glass 
sconce  with  arms  and  seven  others  smaller ;  and  brass 
hearth  furnishings.  On  the  walls  were  "four  mezzotinto 
pieces  and  one  other  sort,  a  prospect  of  Boston,  two  land- 
skips  on  copper  and  the  Temple  of  Solomon." 

In  the  entry  were  twelve  fire  buckets  and  a  large  lan- 
tern. 

The  hall,  staircase  and  other  apartments  were  adorned 
with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  pictures,  the  only  sub- 
jects mentioned  being  Alexander's  Battles  and  Erasmus. 

Mr.  Faneuil's  bedroom  contained  a  bedstead  with 
feather  bed  and  mattress,  and  two  green  silk  quilts.  The 
bed-curtains  as  well  as  the  window-curtains  were  of  green 
harrateen.       Between  the  windows  was  a  pier-glass ;  and  a 

382 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

chimney  glass  and  three  elaborate  sconces  with  arms  gave 
light  and  brilliance  to  the  apartment.  A  Turkey  carpet  was 
on  the  rioor,  and  brass  dogs  and  fire  irons  garnished  the 
hearth.  A  bureau-table,  twelve  chairs  and  a  couch,  and  a 
dressing-glass  and  drawers  rendered  the  room  thoroughly 


MAHOGANY   BEDSTEAD  WITH  GILT  ORNAMENTS 
In  the  houte  of  Mr.  Charies  R.  Waten,  Salem,  Mas&.     See  page  ^86. 


comfortable.  The  owner's  toilet-set  comprised  a  case  with 
six  razors,  strop  and  hone,  a  pair  of  scissors,  penknife,  two 
bottles  and  a  looking-glass,  all  silver-mounted.  His  shav- 
ing bason  of  silver  weighed  275^  oz.  and  was  worth 
/40-16-0. 

Yellow   was  the  prevailing  hue   of  another  bedroom. 
There  was  a  yellow  mohair  bed  with  counterpane  and  cur- 
ias 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

tains,  six  chairs,  one  great  chair,  two  stools,  window-cush- 
ions and  curtains  all  of  the  same  material.  The  other  fur- 
niture consisted  of  a  fine  desk  and  bookcase  with  glass 
doors,  dressing-table  and  glass,  chimney-glass  and  sconces 
and  brass  hearthware. 

A  third  bedchamber  contained  a  mahogany  bedstead 
with  worked  fustian  curtains  lined  with  green  damask,  a 
Turkey-work  and  a  small  leather  carpet,  six  cane  chairs 
and  two  armchairs,  a  chamber  table,  Dutch  press  (evidently 
a  kas)^  English  walnut  desk,  chimney  glass,  sconce  with 
arms  and  brass  andirons  and  fire  irons. 

A  mahogany  field-bed  with  chintz  curtains  and  china 
window  curtains ;  a  mahogany  bedstead  with  blue  harra- 
teen  bed  and  window-curtains  and  silk  and  purple  silk 
quilts,  and  a  red  harrateen  bed  with  material  sufficient  to 
complete  the  window-curtains  furnished  other  rooms  in 
which  we  also  find  a  Greek  screen,  marble  oval  octagon 
table,  twenty-four  cane  chairs,  clothes  press,  couch, 
sconces,  Turkey-work  and  other  carpets,  painted  canvas 
for  floors  of  rooms  and  entry,  and  brass  chimney-ware  in 
every  room.  The  household  linen,  some  of  which  as  we 
have  seen  was  made  in  France,  was  worth  ;^32o;  books, 
^loo;  and  copper  and  pewter  utensils,  ^^i  8i.  In  the 
counting-house  was  a  clock,  two  nests  or  cases  for  papers 
and  one  for  books,  a  large  writing-desk,  two  leaden  stan- 
dishes,  six  leather  chairs,  a  small  looking-glass,  an  iron 
cover  for  the  fire  and  the  usual  andirons.  He  also  owned 
**a  parcel  of  Jewells,"  valued  at  j^i 490-10,  and  1400  oz. 
of  plate  amounting  to  ^'2122-10.  When  he  died  in  1742; 
his  estate  was  valued  at  j^'44,45  i-i  5-7. 

The  handsome  house,  the  interior  of  which  we  have 
just  described,  was  a  solid  square  structure,  standing  in  a 

384 


H    6 


■^ 

e 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CHAIR  USED  BY  JOHN  ADAMS 

Now  in  the  collection  of  the  Waynde  Inn,  Sudbury,  Mass.,  owned  by  Mr.  Letnoil. 

See  page  386. 

garden  ot  seven  acres.  This  was  known  as  the  "Eden  of 
Beauty,"  where  were  cultivated  hothouse  flowers  and  tropi- 
cal fruits  and  vSome  simple  and  sweet  old-fashioned  garden 
flowers  imported  from  France  by  Andrew  Faneuil  to 
awaken  memories  of  his  early  home. 

Mr.  Faneuil's  beds  were   particularly  handsome,  but  it 

385 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

was  not  uncommon  to  find  ornate  beds  in  the  homes  of 
the  wealthy.  On  page  383  is  represented  a  highly  decora- 
tive bedstead,  of  mahogany,  the  tester  of  which  is  elabo- 
rately carved  and  decorated  with  gilt.  .  This  is  in  the  home 
of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mass.  Another  ma- 
hogany bedstead,  with  ball-and-claw  feet,  faces  page  372. 
This  is  owned  by  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society,  and  'u 
furnished  with  old  brown  hangings  in  the  style  of  tapestry. 

It  is  singular  to  find  John  Adams  taking  interest  in 
house  decorations,  yet  he  notes  in  his  Diary  (1766)  : 

**  Dined  at  Mr.  Nick  Boylston's — an  elegant  dinner 
indeed.  Went  over  the  house  to  view  his  furniture,  which 
alone  cost  a  thousand  pounds  sterling.  A  seat  it  is  for  a 
nobleman,  a  prince.  The  Turkey  carpets,  the  painted 
hangings,  the  rich  beds  with  crimson  damask  curtains  and 
counterpanes,  the  beautiful  chimney  clock,  the  spacious 
garden,  are  the  most  magnificent  of  anything  I  have  ever 
seen." 

A  chair  that  belonged  to  John  Adams  appears  on  page 
385.  It  is  of  a  style  derived  from  the  past  century  and 
was  probably  originally  covered  with  cane.  This  is  owned 
by  Mr.  Lemon,  at  the  Wayside  Inn,  Sudbury,  Mass. 

Still  stranger  is  it  to  find  his  kinsman  ambitious  to  have 
a  handsome  home.  Again  John  Adams  writes  in  his 
Diary  ( 1772)  : 

**  Spent  this  evening  with  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  at  his 
house.  Had  much  conversation  about  the  state  of  affairs. 
Cushing,  Phillips,  Hancock,  Hawley,  Gerry,  Hutchinson, 
Sewall,  (^incy,  etc.  Adams  was  more  cool,  genteel  and 
agreeable  than  common  ;  concealed  and  retained  his  pas- 
sions, etc.  He  affects  to  despise  riches,  and  not  to  dread 
poverty;   but  no  man  is  more  ambitious  of  entertaining  his 

386 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

friends  handsomely,  or  of  making  a  decent,  an  elegant  ap- 
pearance than  he.  He  has  lately  new-covered  and  glazed 
his  house,  and  painted  it  very  neatly,  and  has  new  papered, 
painted,  and  furnished  his  rooms  ;  so  that  you  visit  at  a 
very  genteel  house,  and  are  very  politely  received  and  enter- 
tained." 

Nathaniel  Rogers,  of  Boston  (1770),  with  an  estate  of 
^^3,730- 1  7- 1  I ,  has  a  typical  and  comfortable  home.  Each 
of  the  five  principal  rooms  contains  an  abundance  of  ma- 
hogany. Upon  the  rfoor  of  the  East  Front  Room  is  a  large 
carpet.  Before  the  fire,  burning  upon  a  pair  of  princess 
metal  andirons,  is  a  two-leaf  fire-screen.  There  are  a  large 
mahogany  square  table  (;^3),two  great  mahogany  chairs, 
twenty-four  shillings  each,  and  "  twelve  mahogany  Marlboro 
chairs"  (j^'io-16-0);  upon  a  small  square  mahogany  table 
(j^i-io-o)  stands  a  tea-kettle  and  lamp,  and  among  the 
miscellaneous  articles  was  a  painted  sugar-cannistcr. 

In  the  West  Front  Room  there  was  a  sofa  covered  with 
black  horsehair  and  two  squabs  worth  £S ;  eight  ma- 
hogany chairs  with  crimson  damask  bottoms  worth  ^ii- 
4-0,  a  lolling  chair  lined  with  leather,  a  Turkey  floor 
cloth,  a  mahogany  case  of  drawers  valued  at  ^^4-1 0-0;  a 
square  four-foot  mahogany  table,  a  round  mahogany  tea- 
table,  a  mahogany  stand,  a  pair  "prince  metal"  andirons, 
steel  shovel,  tongs,  and  chimney  hooks,  a  looking-glass 
with  gilt  frame,  three  pictures  under  glass,  and  the  two 
blue  and  white  window  curtains.  There  was  a  great  deal 
of  glass  and  china  in  this  room,  including  a  valuable  set  of 
enamelled  china;  and  there  were  four  cases  of  knives  and 
forks  and  spoons,  three  being  of  shagreen  and  one  of  ma- 
hogany. 

The  four-povSt  bedstead,  with   calico  curtains,  stands  in 

3«7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  West  Front  Chamber,  besides  which  is  a  "bedside 
carpet;  "  an  old  carpet  lies  also  on  the  floor.  There  are 
six  mahogany  chairs  with  hair  bottoms  (;^6),  an  easy 
chair  and  case,  a  dressing-glass,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  black 
walnut  desk,  and  a  chest  of  drawers  of  the  same  wood. 
The  curtains  at  the  windows  matched  those  of  the  bed. 
Andirons  and  a  small  picture  completed  the  furniture  of 
this  room. 

A  four-post  mahogany  bed  and  a  crimson  moreen  bed 
are  found  in  the  East  Front  Chamber.  Four  copper-plate 
window  curtains  soften  the  light ;  a  small  carpet  lies  on  the 
floor,  and  another  at  the  entry  to  the  chamber.  The  rest 
of  the  furniture  consists  of  a  "  buro  table,"  a  wash-stand,  a 
dressing-glass,  six  chairs  and  a  close  stool  with  two  arms — 
all  of  mahogany. 

The  bedstead  in  the  Back  Chamber  is  green.  The 
furniture  here  is  somewhat  simpler  than  in  the  other  rooms. 
The  five  chairs  have  straw  bottoms;  the  case  of  drawers 
is  of  pine.  There  are  a  small  painted  pine  table,  a  wicker 
basket  and  two  carpets. 

A  four-post  bedstead  is  the  chief  piece  in  the  Upper 
Chamber.  The  Study  contains  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  volumes.  There  is  a  book-case  here,  a  small  painted 
chcvSt,  a  table,  a  picture  painted  on  board,  four  small  pictures 
and  a  map,  and  a  great  deal  of  linen  and  wearing  apparel  is 
kept  in  this  room. 

The  desk  that  faces  page  376  belonged  to  James  Bow- 
doin.  Governor  of  Massachusetts  in  1785—86.  It  is  simple 
and  must  have  originally  been  furnished  with  brass  handles. 
Upon  the  flap  that  lets  down  is  a  sharply  pointed  inlaid 
star.  This  piece  is  owned  by  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  Worcester,  Mass. 

388 


'  THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Card-playing  was  largely  indulged  in ;  even  the  Boston 
clergy  did  not  despise  it.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Harward 
has  an  early  mahogany  card-table  in  1736.  James 
Jackson  has  one  of  the  same  wood  a  year  earlier.  They 
must  have  varied  greatly  in  workmanship,  for  in  1733  John 
Jekyl  has  one  card-table  at  twelve  shillings,  and  another  of 
black  walnut  at  j[^6.  The  latter  costs  more  than  twice  as 
much  as  either  of  the  mahogany  ones  above  mentioned. 
They  were  generally  square,  but  sometimes  round  and  tri- 
angular. In  1722,  Peter  Cutler's  shop  goods  include  a 
round  card-table,  thirteen  shillings.  A  handsome  mahog- 
any card-table  with  rive  legs,  belonging  to  Mrs.  John 
Marshall  Holcombe,  Hartford,  Conn.,  faces  page  384. 
A  similar  specimen  appears  on  page  309.  Cards  fre- 
quently occur  in  the  inventories.  Fifty  dozen  packs  be- 
longed to  James  Lyndell  in  1720.  A  shilling  a  pack  was 
the  price.  They  also  appear  frequently  among  the  ad- 
vertised importations. 

We  have  seen  that  music  was  somewhat  cultivated  in 
New  England  during  the  seventeenth  century.  The  oc- 
casional advertisements  of  instruments  offered  at  public 
vendue  and  special  advertisements  show  that  they  were 
constantly  imported.  For  instance,  Gilbert  Deblois  at  the 
Crown  and  Comb,  Queen  Street,  Boston,  has  some  '*  good 
violins,  English  and  German  flutes,  bows,  bridges,  pins,  and 
best  Roman  violin  strings,  with  setts  for  violoncello " 
( 1756).  In  1757  "  a  beautiful  sett  of  virginals  "  is  oflrered 
for  sale,  and  in  the  next  year,  "  a  mOvSt  curious  neat  cham- 
ber organ  in  a  mahogany  case  and  frame  on  castors,  pipes 
gilt,  with  two  additional  barrels."  In  1772  **a  neat  desk 
chamber  organ  "  is  to  be  sold  *•  cheap  at  Mr.  McLane's, 
Watchmaker,  on  the  North   side  of  the  Town   House." 

389 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

**  A  six-string  bass  viol  for  a  girl  with  its  case  "  is  adver- 
tised in  Boston  ,in  1 764,  together  with  "  hautboys  and  reeds, 
hddles,  a  tenor  violin,  fiddle  bows,  bridges,  strings  and 
music-books."  Harpsichords  frequently  appear,  showing 
that  the  virginals  were  giving  place  to  the  forerunner  of 
the  pianoforte.  A  harpsichord  made  by  Samuel  Blyth  of 
Salem  faces  page  386.  In  this  instrument  each  key  is 
set  in  motion  by  two  wire  strings.  It  is  now  in  the  Essex 
Institute,  Salem. 

Joiners,  turners,  carvers,  upholsterers,  varnishers,  clock- 
makers  and  cabinet-makers  existed  in  considerable  num- 
bers in  Boston,  and,  if  carpenters  and  housewrights  are  al- 
so taken  into  account,  we  have  a  list  of  some  local  crafts- 
men to  whose  labours  a  great  deal  of  furniture  owed  its 
origin.  Most  of  these  were  men  of  small  estate,  and,  at 
their  death,  little  was  found  in  their  shops  either  in  rough 
timber  or  cabinet-ware.  A  partial  chronological  list  of 
joiners  includes  Samuel  Chough,  1 707 ;  Thomas  Liver- 
more,  1 710;  Jacob  Fernside,  171 6;  John  Cunnabel,  1724  ; 
Thomas  Webb,  1728;  Peter  Gibbons,  1729;  Daniel  Bal- 
lard, 1741  ;  John  Stevens,  1745;  Edward  Wild,  1750; 
Ebenezer  Clough,  1751  ;  and  John  Adams,  1758.  Then 
we  have  Edward  Budd,  1710,  and  George  Robinson, 
1737,  carvers;  Matthias  Smith,  turner,  171 4;  William 
Howell,  1 71 7,  and  John  Pimm,  1773,  cabinetmakers; 
Benjamin  Davis,  171 8,  and  George  Burrill,  1721,  chair- 
makers;  Thomas  Bodeley,  clockmaker,  1720;  Joseph 
Hill,  varnisher,  1723  ;  William  Downe,  1753,  and  Joseph 
Gale,  1744,  upholsterers. 

The  close  scrutiny  kept  upon  new  arrivals  by  the  town 
authorities  was  still  maintained.  In  171 7,  Joshua  Tucker, 
a  turner,  and  Samuel  GifFord,  a   London   upholsterer,  ar- 

390 


six-lk(.c;kd  high  cask  of  drawkrs 

From  the  IFhippU  Iloujf,  Ipswich^  Mass.     See  page  343. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

rived  from  England  :  they  were  both  warned  tt)  depart. 
In  1739,  James  Murphy,  a  mariner  and  joiner,  arrived 
from  Newfoundland  ;  and,  about  the  same  date,  Theophilus 
Shove  received  permission  to  open  a  shop.  On  January  2, 
1744,  "James  Atkinson,  watchmaker  from  London,  ap- 
peared and  desired  to  open  a  shop  in  this  town  which  is 
here  granted,  he  having  brought  with  him  upwards  of 
j^'500  sterling  and  being  a  gentleman  of  a  good  character." 
Character  and  means  were,  therefore,  the  qualitications 
for  admission. 

By  far  the  majority  of  joiners  and  cabinet-makers  kept 
no  stock  in  trade  ;  theirs  was  all  bespoke  work.  Even 
the  rich  shopkeepers  rarely  had  any  cabinet-ware  in  stock. 
Abraham  Francis,  who  died  in  1720,  worth  ^^2,658-1  2-0, 
may  be  selected  as  a  fair  example.  His  warehouse  con- 
tained no  furniture  for  sale,  except  two  new  chests  of  draw- 
ers valued  at  ;^  i  5. 

William  Howell  was  capable  of  doing  the  finer  kinds 
of  cabinet  work,  but  his  estate  amounted  to  no  more  than 
^^73-5- 10,  and  the  only  evidence  of  work  among  his  pos- 
sessions consisted  of  walnut  veneer,  ^^8-18-7;  a  leaf  of  a 
tea-table,  £o-j-6  \  a  clock  and  head-case,  ;^  17-6-3;  and 
twelve  pillars  for  a  chest  of  drawers,  ^^'0-9-0.  An  entry 
in  Samuel  Sewall's  diary  reads;  "August  3,  1714.  John 
Cunable  takes  measure  for  a  window  in  my  wive's  Bed- 
chamber to  the  North-east,  because  of  so  many  buildings 
darkening  us  to  the  South-west.  August  4th,  Howell,  the 
Cabinet-maker,  takes  down  the  closet  that  stands  in  the 
corner  to  make  way  for  the  window."  We  have  already 
seen  that  the  joiners  and  cabinet-makers  of  the  day  were 
also  glaziers,  and  the  above  extract  shows  that  labour  was 
not  specialized  in  these  various  branches. 

39« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  native  joiners  were  evidently  still  making  furni- 
ture with  the  old  black  applied  ornaments  and  black  knob- 
handles.  Howell's  "twelve  pillars"  were  probably  of  this 
nature,  and  in  that  case  their  relatively  high  price  warrants 
the  supposition  that  they  may  have  been  of  ebony.  It  is 
plain  that  the  use  of  brass,  instead  of  black  wood  for  relief 
and  contrast  of  colour,  was  not  the  rule  yet  in  the  ordinary 
home,  since  that  metal  often  receives  special  mention  when 
it  occurs.  Thus,  in  171  o,  the  appraiser  notes  a  "  chest  of 
drawers  with  brasses,  ^4-10-0,"  belonging  to  Elisha  Webb 
of  Charlestown. 

The  widow  of  Sir  William  Phipps  married  Peter  Ser- 
geant, Esq.,  who  died  in  1714.  The  latter  seems  to  have 
been  engaged  in  some  branch  of  this  business.  His  per- 
sonalty included  fifty  red  cedar  boards,  3,290  feet  of  dia- 
mond-cut glass,  600  feet  squares,  a  large  beam  and  an  ebony 
post.  The  latter  was  valued  at  ten  shillings,  and  its  pres- 
ence shows  that  it  was  possible  to  use  real  ebony  in  the 
applied  ornaments  and  inlays  of  the  old  styles  of  furniture 
that  the  new  had  not  yet  entirely  supplanted. 

The  corner  chair,  painted  white  with  mat  bottom, 
shown  on  page  393  and  belonging  to  the  Worcester  So- 
ciety of  Antiquity,  was  originally  the  property  of  Benjamin 
Vassal,  and  may  have  been  made  by  him,  for  he  was  a 
cabinet-maker  by  trade.  He  was  born  in  1742  and  died 
in  1828.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  he  took  up 
arms  and  served  in  the  American  army  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  became  first  lieutenant.  In  1780  he  lived 
in  Charlton,  and  in  i  8 1 7  in  Oxford,  Mass.  It  is  thought 
that  he  was  a  native  of  Scituate,  Mass. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  century,  it  will  have  been 
noticed  that  the  set  of  cane  or  other  chairs  in  the  dining- 

39* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

room  or  parlour  is  nearly  always  accompanied  by  the  **  couch 
and  squab."  The  settee  also  assumes  prominence  with  the 
advent  of  mahogany.  Fine  examples  of  the  latter  will  be 
reproduced  in  the  Chippendale  chapter.  A  quaint  settee 
with  openwork  back  in  the  Chinese  taste,  of  native  make. 


CORNER  CHAIR 

Madr  by  Benjamin  Va<uU.      Now  owned  by  the  Worcester  Society  of  Antiquity,  Worcester,  Mass. 
See  p»je  591. 

is  given  on  page  394.  It  was  originally  in  the  Brattle 
Street  Church,  Boston,  and  is  now  owned  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  Boston. 

The  chairs  made  by  the  native  chair-makers  were  prin- 
cipally of  the  cheaper  kinds.  The  only  material  owned  by 
George  Burrill  (1721)  was  about  seven  pounds'  worth  of 
"  timber  and  Hags." 

393 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Peter  Gibbon  (1729)  has  a  **  chest  of  drawers  not  fin- 
ished "  in  his  shop,  but  nothing  else.  Edward  Weld's  shop 
(1751 )  contained  only  two  boxes,  a  writing-desk,  two  bed- 
steads, a  frame  of  a  table  and  a  frame  of  a  case  of  drawers. 
These  totalled  only  sixteen  shillings  in  all.  In  the  shop 
chamber  there    was   some   walnut    and   pine    timber,  and 


SETTEE   FROM   THE   BRATTLE  STREET  CHURCH,   BOSTON 
Now  owned  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Boston.     See  page  393. 

some  refuse  boards.  Daniel  Ballard  (1741),  whose  estate 
amounted  to  nearly  ^1,500,  had  a  large  stock  of  upholst- 
ery goods  worth  ^^3^0,  and  almost  ^^  100  worth  of  boards, 
mouldings,  panels,  etc.,  but  no  cabinet  work  finished  or  in 
course  of  construction. 

The  upholsterers  sometimes  had  chairs,  sofas  and  beds 
for  sale.  Thomas  Baxter's  stock  (i  751)  included  various 
stuffs   used  for   coverings,   webbing,   bed-ticks,    couch-bot- 

394 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

toms,  suits  of  curtains,  braid  and  binding,  tassels  and  fringe, 
blankets,  counterpanes  and  coverlids.  One  suit  of  harra- 
teen  curtains  came  to  jf  42  ;  ^25  is  also  set  down  to  wood- 
work for  a  bed.  This  is  so  far  above  the  average  price  of 
bedsteads  that  this  one  must  have  been  richly  carved.  As 
a  rule,  about  ninety  per  cent,  of  thc'cost  of  a  bed  is  due  to 


CHERRY  CHK.sT  OF  DRAWERS 
Owned  by  Thompson  S.  Grant,  Eskj.,  Enfield,  Conn.      See  page  337. 

the  feather  bedding  and  hangings  and  coverings.  Twenty- 
nine  chairs,  worth  ^"Ho-io-o,  are  also  among  Mr.  Baxter's 
goods.      These  again  are  unusually  expensive. 

Black  walnut  was  the  favourite  wood  for  chair  frames 
until  quite  late  in  our  period,  and  mahogany  never  entirely 
supplanted  it.  The  carved  frames  of  all  the  new  designs 
as  they  arose  were  executed  in  this  timber  and  they  were 
upholstered  with  almost  an  infinite  variety  of  materials. 

395 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  walnut  frames  were  more  frequently  seated  with 
leather  and  tine  cane  than  with  anything  else  all  through 
this  period.  Walnut  backs  with  rush  bottoms  occur,  and 
these  are  by  no  means  cheap.  The  Turkey-work  chair 
lasts  till  surprisingly  late. 

The  above   kinds  were  all  made  by   native   workers. 


CORNKR  CHAIR  OWNED  BY   DANIEL  BLISS    (1756)    AND  TWO  CHAIRS    MADE    BY 

JOSEPH    HOSMER  (CABINET-M AKERs) 

Owned  by  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord.      See  page  398. 


Although  no  mahogany  furniture  appears  in  the  shops  of 
any  of  the  above  named  makers,  we  know  that  they  used 
that  wood  to  some  extent.  Among  other  evidence  on  this 
point  is  an  advertisement  in  1 74 1  that  a  parcel  of  mahog- 
any planks  is  to  be  sold  by  Nathaniel  Cunningham  at 
Belcher's  Wharf;  and  Robert  Stidman's  goods  (1751)  in- 
clude 859  feet  of  mahogany.  This  was  valued  at  the  high 
figure  of  five  shillings  and  sixpence  per  foot.  Such  sales 
were  frequent  in  New  York  at  this  period  (see  page  285). 

396 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


MAPLE  CHEST-U PON-CHEST  OF  DRAWERS 

From  the  Bannister  family}  now  owned  by  the  Newburyport  Historical  Society,  Newburyport,  Mass. 
See  page  398. 


About  that  date,  maple  begins  to  be  employed  much 
more  frequently  in  native  work  than  hitherto.  Some  of 
the  maple  furniture  recorded  between  1 740  and  i  770  com- 
prises tables,  bedsteads,  desks  and  bookcases,  round  chairs, 
chest  of  drawers  and  table,  round  tea-table,  couch,  and 
chairs  with  Hag  and  leather  bottoms.  Generally  the  maple 
furniture  is  cheaper  than  the  black  walnut,   but  sometimes 

397 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

carving  rendered  it  expensive.  In  1749,  one  set  of  six 
chairs  with  flag  bottoms  amounts  to  twelve  pounds.  In 
1762,  nine  with  rush  bottoms  cost  only  a  shilling  each. 
Cherry  is  quite  scarce ;  in  1 749  Mr.  Nathaniel  Martyn 
owns  a  desk  of  that  wood  that  is  appraised  at  fifteen 
pounds.  Birch  is  occasionally  met  with.  Six  black  birch 
chairs  come  to  eight  pounds  in  1751. 

A  chest-upon-chest  of  maple  appears  on  page  397. 
The  bottom  chest  has  a  swell  front,  and  the  legs  are  slightly 
bombe.  This  piece  belonged  to  the  Bannister  family  and 
is  now  in  the  rooms  of  the  Newburyport  Historical  Soci- 
ety. It  is  probably  of  native  workmanship,  as  is  the  six- 
legged  case  of  drawers  facing  page  390. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  none  of  the  native 
makers  whose  names  we  have  cited  should  have  advertised 
in  the  papers  as  their  brethren  in  New  York  did.  The 
furniture  that  is  advertised  either  comes  under  the  hammer 
at  the  decease  or  departure  of  the  owner,  or  else  has  lately 
been  imported.  The  importations  after  1750  largely  in- 
creased. In  October,  1767,  at  a  public  meeting  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  it  was  declared  that  "the  excessive  use  of  Foreign 
Superfluities  is  the  chief  cause  of  the  distressed  state  of  this 
town;"  means  were  to  be  taken  to  lessen  the  use  of  a  list 
of  imports  including  household  furniture,  clocks  and 
watches. 

Two  chairs  made  by  a  native  cabinet-maker,  Joseph 
Hosmer,  are  represented  on  page  396  with  a  corner  chair 
that  belonged  to  Daniel  Bliss  (1756),  These  two  rush- 
bottom  chairs  differ  greatly  in  the  shape  and  ornamentation 
of  their  backs.  Another  chair,  a  Windsor,  of  the  kind 
called  **  comb  back,"  facing  page  370  was  made  in  all 
probability  by  a  local  workman.       It  was   used  by  Ezra 

398 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Ripley  as  a  writing-chair  and  subsequently  by  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne.  All  four  of  these  specimens  are  owned  by 
the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord. 

Besides  the  best  timber,  all  the  mounts  and  fittings 
necessary  for  the  production  of  the  most  fashionable  cabinet- 
ware  of  the  day  were  on  sale  in  the  shops  of  the  native  bra- 
ziers. One  of  the  latter  was  Jonathan  Jackson,  who  left  an 
estate  of  more  than  eight  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  1736. 
Besides  desk  and  chest  hinges  and  locks,  his  supplies  for 
local  cabinet-makers  included  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  dozen  drops  that  varied  in  cost  from  eight  and  a  half 
to  thirteen  and  a  half  pence  per  dozen.  The  brass  escut- 
cheons that  accompanied  them  varied  from  nine  to  twenty- 
three  pence  per  dozen.  There  were  also  twenty  dozen 
brass  handles  from  twenty-seven  to  thirty-four  pence  per 
dozen.  The  handles  thus  cost  twice  as  much  as  the  drops. 
Among  this  brazier's  native  wares,  it  is  noticeable  that 
there  are  no  brass  furniture  fittings.  The  prices  are  given 
in  sterling  money  which,  at  that  date,  was  six  times  the 
value  of  old  tenor.  Mr.  Jackson's  widow,  Mary,  and 
son,  William,  kept  on  the  business.  In  1756,  they  live 
at  the  Brazen  Head,  in  Cornhill,  and  advertise  the  fol- 
lowing importations  from  London  and  Bristol  :  **  All  sorts 
of  hardware,  door  locks  and  hinges,  desk  and  bookcase 
furniture,  viz.,  handles  and  escutcheons  of  various  sorts, 
desk  and  bookcase  locks,  desk  buttons,  clock  case  hinges, 
furniture  for  tea  chests,  brass  and  iron  table  ketches, 
London  glue,  brass  and  iron  desk  hinges." 

Two  years  later,  Edward  Jackson,  another  member  of 
the  family,  also  a  brazier,  died  worth  nearlv  six  thousand 
pounds.  Included  in  his  stock  were  neat  polished  brass 
handles  at  three  shillings,  and  suitable  escutcheons  at  eighteen 

399 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

pence  per  dozen  ;  about  one-hundred-and-seventy  thousand 
Rosehead  nails  for  chairs ;  eighty-four  dozen  solid  drops 
and  half  as  many  escutcheons ;  other  brass  handles  and 
"  bright  '*  and  brass  desk  hinges.  The  brazier's  trade 
seems  to  have  been  very  profitable,  for  we  find  another 
widow,  Mrs.  Sarah  Dolbear,  who  carried  on  her  hus- 
band's business,  and  died  worth  j^30,ooo.  The  shop  con- 
tained hollow  brass  ring  drops,  and  solid  drops  with 
wires ;  brass  escutcheons,  common  brass  handles  (worth 
slightly  more  than  the  sold  drop)  ;  complete  sets  of  desk 
and  bookcase  furnishings  ;  iron  desk  locks  and  hinges  ;  and 
brass  chair  nails  with  long  shanks,  at  four  shillings  per 
thousand.  Some  of  the  desk  and  bookcase  mounts  cost  ten 
shillings,  and  others  £i  per  set.  From  this  we  gather 
that  the  old  "  drops "  were  being  supplanted  in  public 
favour  by  handles  of  new  designs,  and  that  the  conventional 
Tudor  rose,  that  has  been  such  a  favourite  decorative  feature 
in  the  old  carved  oak,  was  now  repeated  in  brass  along  the 
edges  of  the  chair  seats. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FORE3FATHERS 


CARVED  EBONY  CABINET 
O^uned  by  Mrs.  Caleb  T.  Smith,  Smithtown,  L.  I.     See  page  416. 


J^?i^ 


.'-^> 


THE    FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRITICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  .PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGlS 


ILLUSTRATED 


::s::s:sr::s:::s:2 


t^::M3  PART  VI  i:^:>3  c 

g>x3cxx:x:^:5g:g::2:^:g:::^:^::^:^::^::^::saa 


GARDEN  CITY  NEV  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,    1901,  BY 

BOUBLEDAY,  PAGE    &   CO. 

OCTOBER,   1901 


CONTENTS 

PACt 

BOULLE    AND    HiS   FuRNITURE  .  .  .        403-408 

Cardinal  Mazarin's  sumptuous  furniture,  403-4;  precious 
metals  and  gilded  wood,  404;  the  Gobelin  Manufactory,  404— 
5;  characteristics  of  Boulle,  405-6;  "  old  Boulle  "  and  "new 
Boulle,"  406-7 ;  examples,  408. 


Transitional  Periods  of  Style 


.     408—409 


Famous  Designers        .....     410—414 

Philibert  de  I'Orme,  Mathurin  Jousse,  Jean  Berain,  Jean  Le 
Pautre,  Daniel  Marot  and  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  410—12;  be- 
ginnings of  the  china-mania,  412  ;  Sir  William  Kent,  412-14. 

Introduction  of  Oriential  Goods  into   Europe 

4 1 4-4 1 6 

The  Use  of  Porcelain  in  Decoration  .     416-419 

Brackets  and  chimney-pieces,  416-17  ;  Marot's  great  use  of 
china,  417;  room  described  by  Addison,  418  ;  Defoe  on  China, 
419. 

The  Chinese  Fad  .....     419—420 

Sir  William  Chambers,  419;  early  publications  of  Chinese  de- 
signs, 420. 

The  Gothic  Revival  ....     421-425 

John  Evelyn  on  Gothic  art,  421  ;  gardens  with  Gothic  ruins 
and  shell-work,  421-22;  Batty  Langley,  '^^re,  Mrs.  Delany 
and  Horace  Walpole,  422-5. 

Batty  Langlev  on  Cabinet-Maker*  425-428 


CONTENTS 


French  Design  under  the  Regent  and  Louis  XV. 

428-432 

Use  of  Chinese  motives,  428  ;  Cochin's  satire,  429— 31;  art 
during  the  Regency,  431  ;  rora/"///?,  43 1 ;  decorative  ornaments, 

431-^- 

Chippendale         ......     432-450 

Chippendale  a  generic  name,  432;  Chippendale's  book,  433; 
life  of  Chippendale,  433-4;  Sheraton  on  Chippendale,  Ince 
and  Mayhew,  and  Heppelwhite,  435—7  ;  George  Smith  on 
cabinet-makers  and  Chippendale,  437—8;  Matthias  Darly, 
441-2;  Chippendale's  preface,  442— 3;  favourite  designs,  444; 
Chippendale,  the  carver,  gilder  and  decorator,  445—8 ;  indebt- 
edness to  Meissonier,  449—50. 

Carving  and  Carvers  ....     450—452 

Chippendale  Furniture       ....     452—464 

Difference  between  "Chippendale  furniture  "  and  the  designs 
in  his  book,  452-4;  Chinese  and  Gothic  designs,  455;  chairs, 
456;  examples,  458—64. 

The  Adam  Brothers  ....     464—469 

The  Adam  style,  465;  Adam  ornaments,  465—6;  Adam  de- 
signs, 467-8  ;  the  Adam  style  in  America,  468-9. 

Heppelwhite       ......     469—476 

Heppelwhite  on  English  furniture,  469-70;  characteristics  of 
Heppelwhite,  471-2;  examples,  472;  the  Heppelwhite  side- 
board, 473-6;  decline  of  Heppelwhite,  476. 

Sheraton  .  .  .  .  .  .     476-484 

Obituary  of  Sheraton,  476-7  ;Sheraton's  book,  477-8  ;  charac- 
teristics, 478;  typical  drawing-room,  478-80 ;  dining-parlour, 
480;  Sheraton  on  the  dome,  481  ;  beds  and  sofas,  482;  work- 
tables  and  chairs,  482-4. 


List  of  Illustrations 


WITH      CRITICAL      NOTESON     MANY     OF 
THE        PLATES       BY        RUSSELL       STURGIS 


ALL    THE    NOTU    rUBNISHED    BY    MR.     8TUBGII 
ABB   rOLLOWED    BY    HIS   SIGNATURE. 


Frontispiece:   Carved  Ebony  Cabinet        facing 

This  massive  piece  of  carved  ebony  was  brought  from  China  and  is  part  of  a  magnificent  col- 
lection of  Chinese  furniture  that  was  got  together  by  Mr.  Caleb  T.  Smith  during  his  resi- 
dence at  Canton  from  1850  to  1870.  Every  piece  came  firom  the  house  of  some  man- 
darin of  high  rank.  The  present  piece  belonged  to  one  Houqua.  The  other  pieces 
comprise  a  large  round  centre  table,  two  sofas,  two  armchairs,  six  high-back  chairs,  two 
high  stands  with  antique  bronzes,  two  low  stands  and  various  other  ardcies.  When  the 
owner  wanted  certain  repairs  made  upon  arrival,  he  was  told  by  experienced  American  cabinet- 
makers that  there  were  no  instruments  manufactured  of  fine  enough  steel  and  temper  here  to 
work  such  wood,  which  is  like  stone.  The  form  of  this  piece  of  furniture  is  curiously  in- 
teresting in  that  it  generically  resembles  the  dressoin  and  livery  cupboards  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  china  dispbyed  upon  the  shelves  is  of  the  very  choicest  varieties, 
and  was  brought  in  at  the  same  dme.      E.  S. 

BouLLE  Table      .....  facing 

Boulle  table,  the  inlay  of  tortoise-shell  and  of  brass  or  a  metallic  alloy  resembling  German 
silver,  and  a  richly  coloured  stained  veneer  of  wood.  The  elaborateness  of  the  veneering 
is  completed  by  very  rich  gilded  bronze  appliques,  those  at  the  heads  of  the  four  legs  being 
of  peculiar  richness.  It  is  probable  that  an  examination  of  these  pieces  would  show  the 
(tamp  of  some  well-known  worker  in  bronze  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.     R.  Sturgis. 

Boulle  Secretary  and  Cabinet  .  facing 

Wriring-desk  with  cabinet  above,  of  which,  however,  the  uppermost  member  is  missing. 
This  elaborate  piece  of  furniture  is  inlaid  in  the  style  of  that  Boulle  work  with  tortoise- 
shell  and  metal  which  makes  one  of  the  glories  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  The  work 
before  us  b  of  a  date  difficult  to  fix  as  the  appliques  seem  to  be  hardly  o(  the  same  date  as 
the  very  beautiful  and  delicate  KroUwork  of  the  inbys.      R.  Sturgis. 


Ill 


Boulle  Cabinet 


Cabinet  with  richly  carved  open  stand,  the  body  containing  ten  small  drawers  and  a  central 
cabinet  opening  with  doors,  and  a  gallery  of  unusual  height  and  prominence.  This  piece 
b  in  many  ways  unusual  in  design,  for,  although  the  separate  parts  are  fimiliar,  their  com- 
birution  b  surprising  and  yet  agreeably  so,  for  the  general  proportions  are  extremely  good. 
There  b  no  Boulle  work  properly  so-called  in  the  piece  bcfbrv  us,  but  the  rounded  table- 
like masMS  which  adorn  the  fronts  of  the  drawers  and  the  panels  of  the  doors  would  be  in- 
suflinable  in  polbhed  wi)ud,  while  in  the  delicate  translucent  and  richly  veined  material,  tor- 
tobe-shell,  they  are  in  a  sense  attractive  and  form  a  useful  centre  for  the  ebborate  sculpture 
around  them.  The  colonnettes  are  sheathed  with  a  veneer  of  tortoise-shell.  The  ebborate 
carving  in  light  materul,  and  the  rippled  pattern  of  the  mouldings  which  form  the  frame 


403 


406 


FACING    407 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACK 

enclosing  each  panel,  whether  forming  the  firont  of  the  drawer  or  the  surface  of  the  door, 
are  of  earlier  date  than  this  use  of  tortoise-shell  would  suggest.  There  is  something  about 
the  general  design  also  which  suggests  a  seventeenth-century  piece  In  fact,  if  this  chest 
of  drawers  and  cupboards  dates  from  a  time  later  than  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  (171 5)  it 
is  assuredly  the  work  of  a  cabinet-maker  with  strong  traditional  tendencies  and  one  who 
longed  to  retain  the  designs  of  his  boyhood.  In  a  piece  less  elaborate  and  costly  the  student 
would  be  inclined  to  note  the  probability  of  its  having  been  made  somewhere  in  the  pro- 
vinces, far  away  from  Paris ;  for  it  is  well  known  that  the  style  of  design  and  of  carving 
would  be  retained  long  in  the  south  in  Brittany  or  in  Burgundy  after  it  had  changed  seri- 
ously at  the  centre.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Chair  ......  409 

Mahogany  chair  of  which  the  back  has  a  single  broad  slat  pierced  in  suggestion  of  scroll- 
work with  just  so  much  reference  to  the  broken  and  interrupted  scrolls  of  the  rococo  style 
as  would  be  attractive  in  an  epoch  which  had  not  yet  forgotten  the  illogical  brilliancy  of 
that  class  of  work.  The  rococo  was  pretty  nearly  abandoned  in  France  as  early  as  1760, 
but  it  might  easily  have  lingered  in  England,  from  whence  this  chair  was  undoubtedly 
brought,  twenty-five  years  longer  ;  it  is  therefore  not  remarkable  to  see  these  lingering 
traces  of  its  passage.  The  front  legs  are  of  perfectly  well-managed  curves  with  claw-and- 
ball  feet.  It  is  interesting  to  see  the  great  added  weight  and  solidity  given  to  the  wood 
where  it  is  most  elaborately  cut  away  into  supposedly  graceful  shapes.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chair  ........  413 

This  chair  is  to  be  compared  with  the  one  shown  on  page  409  as  being  almost  precisely 
similar  in  the  character  of  its  back,  while  the  front  legs  are  as  square  and  plain  as  the  others 
were  elaborate.  Moreover,  there  is  reason  for  square  and  solid  legs  ;  there  are  stretching- 
pieces  which  connect  the  four  legs  with  one  another  and  make  the  whole  piece  very  solid. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  demand  for  as  obviously  durable  and  massive  a  piece  as  this  would 
be  contemporary  with  the  demand  for  the  more  graceful  and  finished  type  shown  in  the 
former  example.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Chairs        .  .  .  .  .  -414 

Two  chairs,  in  the  form  of  which  the  two  different  types  shown  on  pages  409  and  413, 
are  reproduced. 

It  will  be  understood  that  in  all  these  chairs  the  seat  is  separate  ;  usually  a  plank  with  a 
stuffed  cushion  secured  to  it,  the  plank  forming  the  under  side  of  the  cushion.  A  some- 
what later  arrangement  is  the  substitution  for  the  solid  panel  of  an  open  frame  with  strips 
of  webbing  carried  from  side  to  side.  This,  when  introduced,  was  found  to  give  the  cush- 
ion greater  softness  and  to  produce  a  more  agreeable  seat. 

In  all  these  inserted  cushions  there  is  a  certain  air  of  fitness,  the  soft  prt  of  the  chair 
obviously  separate  from  the  frame  and  easily  movable.  It  is,  in  taste  and  propriety,  a  fash- 
ion superior  to  that  in  which  the  cushion  is  nailed  &st  to  the  outside  of  the  frame.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Carved  Ebony  Chairs  and  Table        .  facing  416 

These  pieces  come  from  the  same  collection  as  that  on  the  frontispiece.  The  form  of  the 
chairs  is  very  much  like  some  of  those  of  the  Ciueen  Anne  period  and  shows  the  origin  of 
the  models  of  that  date.  The  magnificently  carved  ball-and-claw  foot  table  is  as  ornate  as 
any  similar  pattern  of  the  Chippendale  school.  The  chairs  are  stuffed  and  covered  with 
dark  blue  satin  with  woven  Oriental  figure  and  landscape  subjects  in  various  colours.    E    S. 

Mahogany  Chairs         .  .  .  .  .  -417 

Two  mahogany  armchairs,  the  style  of  which  is  closely  in  accordance  with  that  of  the 
chair  page  409  and  one  of  the  two  page  414.  The  intelligence  of  the  designs  which  wc 
associate  with  Chippendale  and  his  immediate  successors  in  English  furniture-making  is 
hardly  to  be  appreciated  until  one  notes  the  perfect  fitness  of  those  designs  to  the  enlarged 
form  required  by  an  armchair.  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  smaller  or  the  larger  piece 
of  furniture  is  the  more  effective  ;  and  yet  the  design  cannot  be  said  to  have  undergone  not- 
able modification.      R.  Sturgis. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAOt 

Mahogany  Chair  ......  420 

A  chair  of  the  ame  epoch  as  the  pieces  represented  on  previous  pages,  but  nnodified  by 
pierced  patterns  in  the  stretching-pieces  which  are  made  of  thin  boards  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  this  kind  of  ornamentation.  The  same  patterns  are  reproduced  in  mere  sinkings 
in  the  front  legs.  The  design  of  the  piece  is  not  improved  by  these  ornaments.  It  b  an 
experience  constantly  recurring  in  the  examination  of  styles  of  art — the  attempts  of  work- 
men to  escape  from  the  uniformity  of  design  observed  in  the  more  important  works  of  the 
tinte.  Once  in  j  thousand  instances  the  innovation  succeeds,  and  a  new  style  succeeds  to 
the  old  one  after  existing  fur  a  while  contemporaneously  with  it.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chippendalk  Chair      ......  423 

Chair  in  which  the  forms  given  on  page  413  and  (age  420  are  repeated  with  but  slight 
alteration  while,  however,  the  prominent  surfaces  of  the  woodwork  are  covered  with  the 
most  delicate  Kulpture  in  low  relief.  The  front  of  the  chair,  legs  and  rail,  is  so  beautifully 
wrought,  with  such  good  taste  as  well  as  ingenuity,  that  one  cannot  but  regret  that  the 
eighteenth  century  seldom  attempted  such  refined  Kulpture  in  buildinp  or  in  furniture  of 
greater  size  and  pretension.      R.  Sturgis. 

Skt    of    Lacc^er     Tables    and     Carved    Ebony 

Chair        .....  facing   417 

These  pieces  belong  to  the  same  collection  as  that  in  the  firontispiece  and  those  facing  page 
416.  The  form  of  the  chair  with  cabriole  legs,  claw  feet  and  carved  heads  terminating 
the  arms  is  one  that  frequently  occurs  in  English  furniture  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It 
is  upholstered  in  crimson  satin.  On  the  lacquer  tables  is  a  large  bowl  of  the  rarest  porce- 
lain along  the  rim  of  which  is  a  border  divided  into  symmetrical  lengths,  each  containing  a 
different  picture.      E.  S. 

Mahogany  Chairs         ......  427 

Chair  and  armchair  of  ntahogany  forming  part  of  the  same  set,  though  the  coverings  of 
the  seat  are  now  different.  What  was  said  above  in  connecrion  with  the  cut  on  page  417 
applies  with  force  to  these  two  pieces.  The  endre  fitness  of  the  design  to  both  forms  is 
especially  worthy  of  note.      R.  Sturgis. 

Armchair  and  Two  Sheraton  Chairs  .  .  429 

Armchair  which  in  all  respects  resembles  those  shown  in  previous  illustrations  of  this  Part. 
Two  chain  of  different  patterns  and  of  somewhat  later  date  than  the  pieces  found  on  the 
pages  above.  The  designs  resemble  those  shown  in  Sheraton's  "  drawing-book,"  which 
b  indeed  of  a  later  date  than.the  Chippendale  contributions  to  decorative  art.     R.  Sturgu. 

"Chinese"  Settee      ....  facing  430 

This  handsome  settee  is  an  excellent  example  of  the  "  Chinese  "  style  of  Chippendale  work 
which  a  fully  diKussed  in  the  text.  The  frame  is  of  mahogany,  handsomely  carved,  and 
the  seat  is  cane,  in  accordance  with  Chippendale's  instructioru.  Probably  this  was  orig- 
iiully  intended  for  a  summer-house,  the  suggestions  of  umbrellas  in  the  top  and  temple 
bells  in  the  hanging  ornaments  occurring  often  in  the  furniture  designed  for  garden  pavil- 
ions, etc.      There  are  several  armchairs  of  identical  design  belonging  to  this  set.      E.  S. 

Chippendale  Bookcase  and  Secretary    .    facing   431 

Library  bookcase,  the  lower  part  containing  fifteen  drawers,  in  addition  to  the  usual  writing- 
desk  with  dropping  shelf  and  the  fittings  of  the  scrutoir  ;  while  the  upper  part  has  the  usual 
dbtribution  of  glass  doors  with  light  wooden  sash-bars.  It  is  probable  that  the  upper  part, 
if  not  the  lower,  is  separable  into  three  pieces  for  convenience  of  transportation,  and  un- 
doubtedly the  whole  uppermost  member — the  cornice,  as  we  call  it  in  recent  times— can 
be  removed,  as  it  is  nothing  but  a  simulacrum,  represenring  no  essential  part  of  the  piece 
of  furniture.  Thu  piece  of  about  1810,  though  with  certain  minor  details  which  suggest 
an  earlier  time,  is  most  attracrive  for  its  simplicity,  the  general  grace  of  \a  proportions,  and 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGl 

the  evident  air  of  being  a  thoroughly  workmanlike  and  most  useful  piece  of  furniture  for 
the  library.  The  more  precious  or  more  delicately  bound  books  even  of  a  large  collection 
would  find  room  behind  those  glass  doors,  and  the  small  prints,  the  notes  and  documents 
even  of  a  busy  literary  student  might  find  room  in  these  numerous  drawers.     R.  Sturgis. 

Chippendale    Chair    and    Heppelwhite    Card- 
Table         .  .  .  ...  .433 

Round  table  of  most  successful  and  admirable  design,  a  gem  of  simplicity  and  refinement. 
The  inlays  in  light-coloured  wood  are  almost  characteristic  of  Heppelwhite.  The  chairs 
shown  on  pages  413  and  423  appeal  |>erhaps  more  strongly  to  the  sense  of  admiration  for 
stately  designs  than  the  prr:ent  one — they  may  be  thought  more  fit  for  a  splendidly-furnished 
drawing-room.  There  b  :n  the  nature  of  the  design  nothing  to  put  this  one  into  a  place 
of  inferiority.      R.  Sturgis. 

Settee         ......  facing  434 

Double-chair  of  carved  walnut,  a  piece  to  be  compared  with  that  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
Pbte  opposite  page  448  ;  in  connection  with  which  there  is  given  some  statement  of  the 
different  meanings  of  the  word  settee  often  applied  to  such  pieces  as  this.  In  the  present 
case  the  carving  is  of  unusual  interest.  It  is  rare  that  mascarons  are  introduced  into  work 
of  this  epoch  (about  1780),  and  still  more  rare  that  the  end  of  a  member  should  be  carved 
into  an  elaborate  head,  as  seen  in  the  arms  of  the  present  sofa.  These  dragon-heads  are 
cvidendy  studied  from  Oriental,  probably  Chinese,  originals,  but  the  heads  from  which  the 
mascarons  of  the  sofa  legs  were  taken  were  of  European  character,  however  remote  and 
impossible  to  trace  may  be  their  primal  origin.  The  forms  of  this  piece  are  those  of  the 
famous  Chippendale,  but  the  carving  is,  to  say  the  least,  unusual  in  work  of  his,  and  it 
seems  not  impossible  that  an  American  joiner  with  Chipp>endale's  book  before  him  should 
have  produced  such  a  piece.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chippendale   and  Sheraton  Chairs     .  .  .   435 

The  two  central  chairs  are  of  Chippendale  design  ;  the  one  to  the  extreme  right  is  a  Sher- 
aton with  the  lyre-shaped  open  panel ;  the  chair  to  the  extreme  left  belongs  to  the  early 
nineteenth  century.      These  are  sufficiently  described  in  the  text.      E.  S. 

Writing-Cabinet  and  Two  Tables       .       facing   435 

Small  case  of  drawers  with  writing-desk  decorated  with  carving  and  with  the  original  brass 
handles.  This  piece  of  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  somewhat  unusual  in 
its  small  size  and  in  the  curious  repetition  on  a  small  scale  of  the  parts  of  a  two-bodied  piece 
— a  chest  upon  chest  or  bahut  a  deux  corps.  The  whole  piece  stands  but  little  higher 
than  the  modem  writing-desk,  and  yet,  in  the  small  space  allowed  there  are  three  drawers, 
of  which  the  lowermost  is  raised  above  the  floor  by  the  whole  height  of  the  supporting 
feet. 

The  two  stands  with  deep  tops  are  interesting  as  unusually  rich  examples  of  the  table 
with  rim.  The  square  table  has  this  raised  rim  so  pierced  and  of  such  comparative  height 
that  although  it  is  not  vertical,  not  at  right  angles  with  the  top,  it  may  with  propriety  be 
called  a  gallery.  Th'is,  of  course,  has  been  added  to  the  top,  and  fitted  on  with  careful 
dowelling  and  glue.  The  other  stand  has  the  rim  worked  out  of  the  solid  precisely  in  the 
same  way  that  the  carving  in  the  middle  has  been  done,  the  whole  top  being  either  a  single 
piece  of  wood,  or  else  built  up  by  the  setting  edge  to  edge  of  different  pieces  of  plank  made 
one  by  the  well-known  arts  of  the  joiner.  The  tripod  stands  and  pedestab  are  very  beau- 
tifully designed  and  prettily  carved.      R.  Sturgb, 

Double  Corner  Chair  .....  439 

Elaborate  comer  chair  so  designed  that  it  presents  an  equally  decorative  aspect  on  every  side; 
unusual  in  thb  and  still  more  unusual  in  having  the  secondary  or  upper  back,  which  may  per- 
haps be  an  after  thought  or  perhaps  a  special  provision  made  for  one  who  desired  support 
for  the  head.  The  complicated  form  has  not  been  mastered  by  the  designer.  Its  essential 
clumsiness  has  not  been  overcome  ;  but  the  beauty  of  the  workmanship,  and  the  delicacy 
of  the  design  shown  in  the  turned  uprights  and  stretching-pieces  and  in  the  carefully 
modelled  and  carved  legs,  give  thb  armchair  a  high  pbce  as  a  piece  of  decorative  art. 
R.  Sturgb. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

rAGt 

Mahogany  Table  and  Tea-Kettle  Stands 

FACING  440 

Two  mahogany  pedestal  tables,  and  a  stand  with  "  gallery  "  enclosing  the  top.  All  three 
of  these  pieces  are  of  the  pedestal  type,  the  upright  pillar  being  supported  by  a  tripod  of 
three  gracefvilly  shaped  legs.  The  beauty  and  the  long  continued  permanence  of  this  type 
of  support  b  commented  on  in  connection  with  the  illustrations  of  Part  V.  The  designers 
of  the  time,  having  this  enbrely  satisfactory  principle  to  go  upon,  were  never  tired  of  work- 
ing out  the  possible  varieties  of  form  and  carved  detail.  Thus,  the  table  on -the  left  de- 
pends entirely  on  turning  for  the  decoration  of  the  pedestal,  and  the  three  legs  are  cut  out 
of  thin  board  and  are  simply  rounded  at  top  and  bottom  ;  the  outlines  remabiing,  however, 
eitremely  graceful  and  appropriate  j  while  the  stand  with  a  little  pierced  railing  around 
the  top  has  the  pedestal  ebboratcly  rtuted  above  and  reeded  in  spiral  form  below,  with  the 
three  legs  carved  with  a  graceful  adaptation  of  acanthus  leafage.  The  larger  table  in  the 
middk  has  a  carved  coat-of-arms  which,  however,  lacks  the  crest.     R.  Sturgis. 

Chair  ........  444 

A  chair  of  bter  design  than  those  shown  on  pages  409,  41 3  et  uq.  As  mere  matter  of 
composition,  this  is  in  no  respect  an  advance  upon  the  earlier  pieces,  but  there  is  an  in- 
creased delicacy  in  the  parts  of  the  back,  partly  real  and  resulting  from  their  slendemess, 
and  partly  apparent,  coming  firom  their  very  delicate  moulding.  The  plain  square  legs  are 
moulded  and  the  mouldings  cue  across  into  little  pyramids  like  medizval  dog-teeth,  an  at- 
tractive treatment  when  more  elaborate  carving  cannot  be  had.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Chair  ......   447 

This  chair  b  one  of  a  set  that  w;u  probably  made  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. It  may  have  been  nude  by  a  Charleston  cabinet-maker  ;  it  b  almost  identical  with 
another  chair  on  page  148,  which  also  comes  from  Charleston.  Thb  piece  b  upholstered 
with  dark  red  leather  fixed  with  brass  studs.      £.  S. 

Chippendale  Stands  .  .  .  facing   441 

Three  pieces  ascribed  to  Chippendale,  namely,  tall  stand  with  open  "  gallery  "  around  the 
top  and  pierced  and  carved  uprights ;  low  stand  with  raised  moulded  edge  worked  in  the 
solid  j  and  closed  case  possibly  for  keeping  music.  Such  pieces  as  the  taller  of  these  stands 
were  often  called  candle-stands  ;  that  eighteenth-century  term  curiously  repeating  the  pro- 
per and  original  sense  of  the  Latin  word  candelabrum  ;  for  those  who  have  studied  in  mod- 
em museums  will  remember  the  ponderous  and  richly  carved  marble  pieces  five  feet  high, 
as  well  as  the  slender  bronze  uprights  of  the  same  or  even  greater  altitude,  which  were  used 
simply  to  support  the  feeble  lamps  of  the  Ronun  Imperial  time.  The  small  fiame  of  a 
candle  or  lamp  b  doubled  in  efiicacy  by  being  set  rather  high  in  a  place,  where  the  unceiled 
%vaUs  and  the  low  ceiling  receive  and  reflect  the  full  force  of  its  illuminarion.  Such  a  stand 
as  the  present,  about  three  feet  six  inches  high,  would  serve  rather  as  a  piece  to  hold  the 
light  by  which  one  would  wbh  to  read,  fur  a  candle  set  upon  it  would  be  at  the  right 
height  for  a  seated  reader.  The  low  stand,  perhaps  two  feet  in  height,  ba  piece  useful  in 
a  thousand  ways.  In  connection  with  the  plates  of  Part  V,  there  a  comment  on  the 
tripod  fleet  and  the  solid  moulded  edge*  of  such  pieces.     R.  Sturgis. 

Settee         ......  facing   441 

Double-chair  sofa  of  Chippendale  style,  with  an  unusual  amount  of  Kulpture  added.  Such 
pieces  were  called  at  the  time  simply  "double  chain,"  and  if  the  term  settee  was  also  ap- 
plied to  them,  that  word  was  used  equally  for  other  very  different  pieces,  or  parts  of  pieces. 
Thus  ( and  thb  b  an  interesting  point )  the  word  settee  was  used  for  the  small  three-cor- 
nered teats  worked  into  the  tv/o  ends  of  very  long  sofiu,  such  as  were  made  for  the  great 
tali/is  of  France,  and  sometimes  imitated  in  England.  These  pieces  were  like  a  sofa  to 
which  two  comer  chairs  had  been  added,  one  at  each  of  the  two  ends,  the  whole  worked 
into  one  deugn  which  was  sometimes  very  spirited  and  successfil;  and  the  whole  was  then 
called,  in  England,  a  sofa  with  settees.  The  present  writer  has  heard  the  name  applied  in  old 
country  houses  to  the  settles  set  upon  rockers — pieces  like  a  rocking-chair  made  for  two  or 
three  occupants.      Out-of-door  garden  seats  long  enough  for  two,  and  settles  <^  the  true 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

antique  fireside  paRern,  are  called  by  that  name.  In  fiict,  anything  which  can  be  used  for 
sitting  upon  and  which  is  not  a  chair  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  may,  it  appears, 
be  called  a  settee. 

The  present  piece  is  unusual  in  that  while  the  forms  are  rather  simple,  there  is  an  un- 
usual amount  of  naturalistic  carving  worked  upon  the  front  fiice  of  each  bar  or  separate 
piece  which  goes  to  make  up  the  back.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mirrors      ......  facing  450 

These  mirrors  are  of  various  dates,  ranging  from  early  in  the  century  till  the  close  of  the 
Chippendale  period.  The  top  one  on  the  right,  showing  the  bird  at  the  top,  is  a  good  ex- 
ample of  the  spikiness  of  the  characterbtic  Chippendale  carving.  The  rest  arc  compara- 
tively simple  in  design  and  workmanship,  and  were  to  be  found  in  homes  that  were  not 
necessarily  luxurious.      £.  S. 

Screen,  Table  and  Chair     .  .  .  .  .451 

The  screen  is  a  beautifully  embroidered  floral  design,  and  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  the 
more  elaborate  needlework  done  by  the  ladies  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  should  be 
compared  with  the  screen,  worked  in  1776,  shown  on  page  311.  The  claw-and-ball 
tripod  table  is  a  common  form  of  the  middle  of  the  century,  and  the  chair  b  one  of  the 
more  graceful  models  designed  by  Heppelwhite.  It  is  stuffed,  and  covered  with  crimson 
damask.     This  is  the  chair  that  Heppelwhite  designates  as  "  cabriole."     £.  S. 

Field-Bed    ........  454 

Four-post  bedstead  with  low  and  slender  posts  carrying  the  skeleton  of  an  elaborate  canopy 
or  ciel.  The  idea  is  that  as  the  posts  are  short,  the  tester  shall  be  arched  up  high  in  the 
middle.  This  piece  as  compared  with  the  massive  and  rich  four-posters  of  Part  V  is  curi- 
ous in  this,  that  the  posts  of  the  head-board  are  of  precisely  the  same  design  as  those  of 
the  foot,  except  that  the  latter  have  a  single  passage  of  reeding  in  the  most  prominent  part. 
R.  Sturgis. 

Bookcase  and  Secretary    .  .  .  facing   451 

Bookcase  and  scrutoir  with  drawers  below,  the  glass  of  the  doors  lined  with  some  textile 
material,  the  bookcase  so  much  less  deep  than  the  lower  part  of  the  case  that  a  broad  shelf 
is  provided  in  front  of  the  bookcase  doors.  The  writing-shelf  is  the  inside  of  the  dropping 
front  cover  which,  when  closed,  completes  the  design  of  the  piece.  The  suggestion  of 
Gothic  window  tracery  in  the  form  of  the  sash  bars  seems  to  imply  an  epoch  of  about  i8zo, 
although  in  Sheraton's  dated  designs  of  i8iz  some  approach  to  it  may  be  found.  In  Eng- 
land, where  the  practice  of  what  was  thought  to  be  Gothic  art  has  never  been  abandoned 
altogether,  such  a  way  of  treating  the  slender  bars  of  glazed  sash  may  have  occurred  to  the 
designer  at  almost  any  time.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chairs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  457 

Chair  and  armchair  of  the  type  characteristic  of  drawing-room  furniture  in  the  time  of 
George  III.  and  George" IV.  The  suggestion  of  the  form  is  evidently  classical,  taken  from 
the  Greco-Roman  forms  studied  by  the  French  artists  of  the  First  Empire.  Indeed,  the 
forms  of  these  English  chairs  are  closely  akin  to  those  in  use  within  Napoleon's  sphere  of 
influence.  The  design  has  in  it  a  certain  grave  respectability  appropriate  enough  to  the 
rooms  of  English  citizens  of  the  wealthier  class  at  a  time  when  decorative  art  was  at  the 
very  lowest  ebb  which  it  has  ever  reached  in  western  Europe  since  the  revival  of  art  in  the 
tenth  century.      R.  Sturgis. 

Inlaid  Sideboard        ....  facing  458 

Small  sideboard  with  three  knife-c:ues.  This  sideboard  is  of  very  unusual  character  in 
that  it  is  arranged  as  if  for  travel  or  for  easy  removal  from  place  to  place.  That  which  ap- 
pears in  the  picture  as  the  back  of  the  sideboard  and  supports  four  shelves,  each  having  a 
bracket  to  support  it,  is  in  reality  the  hinged  cover  which  on  occasion  can  be  shut  down  upon 
the  box  below.     The  shelves  are  all  adjustable  themselves  to  the  raised  upper  part  or  cover 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAGE 

and  are  hinged  as  are  their  brackets,  these  last  having  spring  hoUcrs  which  keep  them  in 
place  when  they  are  once  opened.  The  side  shelves  drop  like  the  leaves  of  a  Pembroke 
table  and  are  supported,  when  raised,  by  sliding  strips  which  disappear  in  the  body  of  the 
piece.  The  whole  thing  is  inlaid  with  delicate  woods  much  in  the  style  of  Heppelwhite, 
but  with  more  use  of  floral  ornament  than  is  usual  with  him. 

The  knife-cases  are  of  unusually  elaborate  design,  this  richness  of  aspect  being  caused 
mainly  by  the  very  finely  wrought  ntetal  mountings.  There  are  three  delicate  little  feet  to 
each  piece  and  the  attachment  of  these  to  the  body,  the  striking  pbtes  of  the  drop  handles 
on  the  sides  and  of  the  sloping  top,  and  most  of  all,  the  Kutcheon  and  hasp  piece  of  the 
lock  are  remarkable  pieces  of  delicate  work.  One  looks  in  vain  among  these  rich  and  fan- 
tastic scrolls  for  a  cipher  or  even  a  single  initial.  All  is  abstract  and  made  without  refer- 
ence to  any  particular  owner — something  unusual  i»  pieces  of  such  varied  beauty.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Chair  .  .  .  .  .  .461 

Chair  with  legs  and  cross  bars  as  plain  as  any  that  we  have  to  do  with  in  this  study,  but 
with  a  back  elaborately  wrought  as  if  in  further  development  of  the  style  adopted  in  the  chairs 
shown  on  pages  409,  41  3,  and  elsewhere.  The  design  of  the  present  chair  may  be  thought 
even  more  constnicrional  than  those  in  that  it  is  more  obviously  nude  of  slender  bars 
wrought  into  shape  instead  of  a  broad  pierced  slat.      R.  Sturgis. 

Adam  Chairs        .......  463 

Chairs  and  armchair,  the  two  pieces  on  the  left  and  in  the  middle  having  much  the  same 
Imperial  character  as  those  on  page  4^7.      R.   Sturgis. 

Heppelwhite  Chair  .....  465 

Chair  which  should  be  compared  with  that  on  page  461.  There  is  the  same  desire  to 
obtain  curved  forms  in  the  back,  and  to  give  the  combination  of  these  a  shape  which  re- 
minds one  of  the  outline  of  a  shield.  The  medieval  pointed  ti  u  has  always  been  attrac- 
tiv;  to  modems,  and  wherever  an  excuse  offers  to  bring  it  in,  as  in  the  scutcheon  of  a  key- 
hole, the  flat  plate  of  a  sconce,  or  as  here,  the  mere  bounding  outline  of  a  series  of  bars,  it 
b  seized  upon  eagerly  and  retained  entire.  The  legs  of  this  chair  are  prettily  inlaid  with 
light-coloured  wood.      R.  Sturgis. 

Hkppelwhite  Sofa      ....  facing   459 

Sofa  of  about  1 780,  with  no  woodwork  showing  except  the  legs.  Such  pieces  as  this, 
which  are  the  precursora  of  our  modem  stuffed  and  tufted  furniture,  of  horsehair  and 
springs,  were  not  themselves  so  very  luxurious.  They  were  comparatively  hard,  and,  how- 
ever well  stuffed  were  the  seat,  back  and  arms,  they  hardly  invited  to  such  reposeful  atti- 
tiides  as  the  nineteenth-century  pieces  which  correspond  to  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  were  far  more  comely  in  the  room,  agreeing  much  better  with  the  architectural  lines, 
retaining  a  certain  severity  and  dignity,  and  avoiding  the  appearance  which  our  modem 
comfortable  furniture  almost  inevitably  has,  of  being  an  accidental  cushion  thrown  down 
here  or  there,  and  not  belonging  to  the  apartment  which  it  b  supposed  to  complete.  There 
b  also  in  the  old  pieces  a  far  better  opportunity  to  show  a  finely  designed  piece  of  stuff,  and 
in  the  present  case  that  opportunity  b  seised.  A  very  beautiful  nuterial  with  a  Hower 
pattern  alternated  by  stripes,  the  whole  somewhat  formal  and  exact  but  of  singular  beauty 
of  composition,  completes  thb  piece  in  a  way  that  few  recent  furniture  coverings  would 
make  possible.     R.  Sturgb. 

Heppelwhite  Chairs   ......  467 

Two  chain  whose  forms  are  ckxely  in  agreement  with  those  on  pages  461  and  46;.  An- 
other step  in  the  gradually  increased  elaboration  of  these  pieces  b  shown  in  the  shaping  of 
projecting  bases,  as  it  were,  to  the  front  legs.  Thb  b  an  enrirely  appropriate  and  fitting 
termination  of  such  uprights.  The  only  doubt  about  its  propriety  b  in  the  comparative 
plainness  which  the  workmen  uf  the  period  agreed  in  giving  to  the  lep  of  their  chairs.  It 
seeais  to  be  thought,  and  certainly  not  without  reason,  that  these  should  be  made  so  as  to 
mnct  the  eye  less  than  other  parts  of  the  piece.     R.  Sturgb. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACK 

Heppelwhite  Sideboard      .  .  .  kacin(;  470 

Sideboard  of  about  I  800,  and  probably  the  work  of  one  of  the  famous  English  makers, 
although  probably  the  handles  of  the  drawer  are  not  of  the  same  epoch.  There  is  very 
beaud^l  inlay  of  light  wood  ort  dark  in  the  style  of  that  introduced  by  Heppelwhite  dur- 
ing the  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

There  are  three  knife-cases  standing  on  this  sideboard,  all  of  about  the  same  date 
with  it. 

It  is  a  curious  instance  of  the  intelligence  of  design  shown  by  these  later  eighteenth-cen- 
tury artists  in  furniture  that  their  pieces  look  well  with,  and  also  without,  the  almost  inev- 
itable accessories.  A  sideboard  of  this  date  with  its  perfectly  flat  top  is  evidently  made  to 
receive  the  spoon-bowls,  knife-cases,  lamps,  branched  candlesticks  and  punch  bowls  which 
belong  to  it,  and  yet  the  piece  is  not  felt  to  be  naked  and  incomplete  without  them,  how- 
ever well  it  may  look  when  they  are  set  upon  it.      R.  Sturgis. 

Sofa     .........  472 

Covered  sofa  closely  agreeing  in  design  and  character  with  that  which  is  shown  in  the  plate 
opposite  page  466.  Here  also  in  each  of  these  two  sofas  the  thickening  of  the  legs  at  the 
bottom,  as  if  to  make  a  little  base,  is  noticeable.  In  this  case  the  fluting  of  the  legs  gives 
an  additional  fitness  to  the  little  bases  as  affording  a  natural  means  of  stopping  the  flutes  and 
keepini;  them  from  reaching  the  floor.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Sofa  ....  facing   471 

Sofa  of  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  carvea  with  the  solidity  and  mass- 
iveness  of  detail  peculiar  to  the  time.      R.  Sturgis. 

Two  Chairs  and  a  Letter  Case  ....   473 

The  chair  on  the  left  is  of  a  design  which  Thomas  Sheraton  made  peculiarly  his  own, 
the  central  slat  being  wrought  into  the  guise  of  a  classical  vase  with  festoons,  and  this 
enclosed  in  a  special  arcaded  open  frame,  reinforced  in  its  turn  by  a  secondary  and  plainer 
frame.  The  design  is  illogical  enough,  but  its  dignity  and  fitness  for  a  room  of  reception 
and  ceremony  cannot  be  denied.  The  simple  armchair  on  the  right  would  seem  to  be  of 
the  design  modified  originally  from  the  Windsor  chair.  Thus  might  a  cabinet-maker  of 
renown  deal  with  the  simple  problem  which  that  traditional  form  would  oflfer  him.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Sheraton  Chair  ......   475 

A  chair  but  slightly  modified  from  the  design  shown  on  the  left,  page  473.  This  is  another 
instance  of  a  design,  giving  satisfaction  to  its  maker  and  therefore  played  with,  treated  in  dif- 
ferent ways  with  but  slight  change  of  detail,  and  always  with  pleasure  to  workman  and  to 
purchaser.      R.  Sturgb. 

Sheraton  Sofa.  ......   479 

Sofa  of  very  fine  and  agreeable  form;  but  the  piece  is  in  reality  a  completely  covered  sofa, 
with  the  wooden  fiame  as  completely  concealed  as  is  the  stout  wire  frame  of  our  modern 
reml>ourri  sty\e.  The  strip  along  the  back  is  a  mere  adjunct  to  the  actual  framing-piece  con- 
cealed by  the  stuff  and  that  of  the  arms  •«  even  more  slender,  and  as  it  were  a  wooden  bind- 
ing put  on  where  a  piece  of  passementerie  might  equally  well  have  been  used.     R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany   Inlaid   Sideboard   and   Chippendale 

Chairs  ....  facing  480 

Sideboard  and  two  chairs  ;  the  chairs  of  about  1780,  probably  Chippendale  of  a  simple  pat- 
tern ;  the  sideboard  somewhat  later,  probably  1805,  perhaps  by  Heppelwhite,  retaining 
some  of  its  original  hardware  and  unrestored.  Upon  the  sideboard  are  two  knife-cases  of 
polished  wood,  one  open  to  show  the  interior  arrangement. 

The  sideboard  is  of  singular  beauty  of  design.  The  reeding  of  the  legs  would  be  alone 
recommendation  enough  to  an  ardent  collector  or  student,  for  it  is  very  rare  that  this  detail 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


■  M  Bmple  and  tucceatfully  mafugcd.  The  rounded  member  which  fenns  one  of  the  legi 
below  forms  above  a  perfectly  well  adapted  comer-piece,  and  in  another  case  an  equally 
fitting  divbion  between  the  central  mau  and  the  (ide  cupboards.  The  beauty  of  proportioa 
and  grace  of  outline  of  this  piece  are  unsurpassed  in  pieces  of  this  style  and  epoch.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Work-Table         ....... 

Work-table  ;  that  is  to  lay,  a  table  in  which  a  lower  drawer  has  suspended  from  it  and  re- 
pbcing  a  wooden  bottom,  some  much  larger  receptacle  which  might,as  in  this  case,  be  of  stutT, 
silk,  or  some  more  costly  textile  material,  and  finished  with  a  fringe.  The  piece  on  page 
485  is  of  a  different  character,  and  the  two  show  very  well  the  tables  used  by  bdies  at  a 
time  when  it  was  customary  to  have  some  pretty  sewing  work  ready  to  carry  on  in  the  re- 
ception or  sitting-roum.  Those  were  the  days  when  there  was  not  quite  the  same  demand 
for  constant  amusement  as  a  known  in  the  twentieth  century.  The  bdies  of  the  time  ex- 
pected to  make  some  sort  of  dainty  occupation  of  work  which  had  to  be  done  or  might  be 
thought  to  need  doing.  The  table  itself  is  in  this  case  extremely  interesting,  with  prettily 
applied  carving,  which  in  itself  is  of  merit.      R.  Sturgis. 

Work-Table         ....... 

Work-table  in  which  the  triple  design  of  the  wooden  frame  allows  equally  for  each  of  two 
powible  distributions.  The  side  pieces  above  may  be  work-boxes,  that  is,  little  tills  for  the 
keeping  of  spools,  scisson,  and  the  rest — what  a  sailor  would  call  the  ditty  boxes — and  the 
centre  compartment  being  open  allowed  the  arm  to  reach  into  the  silk  bag  below.  The 
other  arrangement  allowed  by  this  table  is  a  division  of  three  bags  with  three  separate  open- 
ings to  them  from  above,  and  a  single  cover  to  all  three.      R.  Sturgis. 


481 


483 


// 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  VI 


"A 


Q 


THE   FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  VI.     CKippendale 

AND  OTHER    GREAT   CABINET-MAKERS  OF   THE 
EIGHTEENTH     CENTURY 

HE  family  of  Boulle  (written  also  Boule  and 
Biihl)  acquired  great  fame  as  cabinet-mak- 
ers in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  most 
celebrated  was  Andre-Charles,  the  son  of 
Jean,  and  the  nephew  of  Pierre  Boulle. 
These  elder  BouUes  bore  the  title  of  "  menu- 
siers  du  roi''  and  lived  at  the  Louvre. 

Andr6-Charles  Boulle,  native  of  Paris,  architect, 
painter,  and  sculptor  in  mosaic,  born  November  loth, 
1642,  died  in  Paris  in  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre,  where 
he  had  had  the  honour  of  residing  since  1672. 

Boulle  was  not  the  originator  of  the  style  that  bears 
his  name :  he  carried  it  to  such  perfection,  however,  that  it 
will  always  be  associated  with  him.  Long  before  Boulle 
began  to  work.  Cardinal  Mazarin  owned  a  cabinet  of  tor- 
toise-shell and  ebony,  outlined  with  copper-gilt  and  suf>- 
ported  on  copper-gilt  monsters.     This  was  still  further  or- 

40J 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

namented  with  copper-gilt  masques,  cartouches,  foliage, 
animals,  and  figures  in  bas-relief  representing  various  fables 
from  Ovid.  From  the  reign  of  Henri  IV.,  but  more  es- 
pecially that  of  Louis  XIII.,  there  had  been  a  growling  use 
of  metal  in  combination  with  wood,  and  the  liking  for  and 
use  of  luxurious  furniture,  constructed  of  precious  metals 
and  richly  decorated,  was  greatly  fostered  by  Anne  of 
Austria  and  Cardinal  Mazarin.  The  latter  owned  furni- 
ture of  the  most  sumptuous  description.  At  this  period, 
the  rich  financiers  furnished  their  homes  with  silver  furni- 
ture,— a  fashion  brought  over  the  Pyrenees  with  the  daugh- 
ter of  Philip  III.  on  her  marriage  with  the  Dauphin,  after- 
wards Louis  XIV. 

Furniture  under  the  latter  monarch  soon  outshone  that 
of  past  reigns,  although,  for  the  most  part,  it  was  sculptured 
in  wood  and  gilt  rather  than  chiselled  out  of  metal.  The 
King  was  not  the  only  one  to  enjoy  luxurious  articles;  as 
an  example,  we  may  recall  the  superb  bed-room  set  of  sil- 
ver presented  to  Mile.  d'Aumont  on  her  marriage  with  M. 
de  Beringhen.  Indeed  there  was  so  much  extravagance 
that  sumptuary  laws  were  passed. 

Furniture  in  precious  metals  had  its  influence  as  well 
as  its  comparatively  short  day,  and  wooden  furniture  was 
gilded  and  silvered  in  imitation  of  it.  The  furniture  in  the 
reign  of  the  grand  monarque  was  principally  gilded  :  gold 
glittered  everywhere. 

In  1667,  the  Manufacture  royalle  des  Meubles  de  la 
Couronne — in  other  words,  the  Gobelin  Manufactory  (tak- 
ing its  name  from  the  Gobelen  brothers  of  Flanders) — was 
founded.  The  intention  of  the  King  and  his  minister  of 
finance,  Colbert,  was  to  adorn  the  royal  palaces  with  furni- 
ture hangings,  bronze,   mosaics,  etc.,   etc.,  of  the  greatest 

404 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

splendour.  The  manufactory  was  placed  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  famous  painter  Le  Brun,  who,  in  this  capacity, 
gave  French  art  a  character  of  unity  so  perfect  and  com- 
plete as  to  impose  French  styles  all  over  Europe.  A  vast 
number  of  artists  and  artisans  worked  under  one  governing 
idea.  Boulle  was  made  **  ebeniste^  ciseleur^  et  marqueteur  or- 
dinaire du  RoVy'  and  devoted  himself  to  producing  the  fur- 
niture so  well  in  harmony  with  the  magnificence  of  Ver- 
sailles, Marly,  and  other  palaces  of  the  King  and  his  cour- 
tiers. 

Boulle's  furniture  consists  almost  exclusively  of  ar- 
moires,  consoles,  tables  and  desks, — such  forms  as  present 
large  surfaces  for  decoration.  It  naturally  follows  that  his 
designs  are  frequently  four-square  and  heavy ;  yet  they 
often  take  the  curved,  or  bombe  shape,  and  it  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  find  the  legs  of  his  tables  joined  by  the  X-shaped 
stretcher.      His  cases  for  clocks  are  also  valued. 

"  No  one  would  refuse  to  admit,"  says  a  modern 
French  critic,  "  that  the  architecture  is  the  least  remark- 
able part  of  the  creations  of  this  celebrated  artist.  His 
great  merit,  independently  of  the  perfection  of  the  work 
of  his  ebenisteriey  must  be  sought  elsewhere.  Boulle  is  a 
colourist  in  his  art  more  than  a  designer.  The  contours  of 
his  furniture  are  often  heavy  and  he  added  nothing  new. 
You  may  find  all  the  elements  in  the  immense  work  of  Le 
Brun,  the  great  master  of  decorative  art  under  Louis  XIV. 
The  superiority  and  the  originality  of  this  cabinet-maker 
consists  in  the  admirable  combination  of  the  bronze  and  the 
copper  with  the  background  of  the  furniture  which  he  un- 
derstood how  to  vary  infinitely  by  the  multiplicity  of 
incrustations  and  mosaics  upon  the  groundwork  of  oak  and 
chestnut.       This  was  his  palette,  from  which  he  drew  his 

405 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

surprising  effects  and  on  which  he  played  with  his  con- 
summate virtuosity;  it  is  to  this  that  he  owes  his  legiti- 
mate renown,  greater  even  in  England  than  it  is  in 
France." 

Boulle's  work  is  an  intarsia  or  marquetry  of  tortoise- 
shell  and  metals.  Ebony  or  oak  forms  the  framework  or 
background  for  the  decoration.  The  designs  of  the  orna- 
ments of  thin  brass,  or  white  metal,  are  usually  branches  of 
foliage  or  scrolls,  and  are  sometimes  elaborately  engraved. 
Freque'ntly  these  metal  ornaments  are  fastened  to  the  bed 
of  wood  with  small  brass  nails,  hammered  flat,  and  after- 
wards chased,  so  that  they  are  invisible.  The  method  of  in- 
crustation was  as  follows :  the  workman  superimposed  a  plate 
of  metal  and  a  plate  of  shell  of  equal  size  and  thickness, 
and,  after  having  traced  his  design  upon  this,  cut  the  pat- 
tern out  with  a  saw.  He  then  had  four  ornamental  designs, 
or  patterns,  two  of  which  were  hollowed  out.  Into  the 
hollowed  out  tortoise-shell  pattern  he  would  fit  the  corre- 
sponding metal  pattern,  and  into  the  hollowed  out  metal 
pattern  he  would  lit  the  corresponding  tortoise-shell  pattern. 
Two  pieces  of  furniture  were  frequently  made  at  the  same 
time.  The  tortoise-shell  ground  with  the  metal  inlay 
was  considered  the  "  lirst  part "  ;  and  the  metal  ground 
with  the  tortoise-shell  inlay,  **  th^  counterpart."  Frequent- 
ly, also,  the  first  and  second  parts  were  mingled  in  the  same 
piece  of  furniture.  An  interesting  example  of  such  balan- 
cing belonged  to  Sir  Richard  Wallace;  examples  of  the 
reverse  designs  occur  in  two  console  tables  in  the  Galerie 
d'Apollon  at  Versailles. 

The  earlier  style,  called  "  old  Boulle,"  was  costly,  owing 
to  the  waste  in  cutting  ;  but  the  expense  was  lessened  af- 
terwards by  sawing  through  several  thicknesses  of  material 

406 


Bori.I.K  SKCRETARV  AND  CABINET 
In  Memorial  Hall,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     Sff  page  408, 


BOULLE    CABINET 

In  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Bojlon,  Mass.     See  paj^e  408. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  producing  a  number  of  designs  at  once.  This  process 
is  known  as  **  Boulle  and  Counter."  In  the  **  old  Boulle" 
the  shell  was  left  in  its  natural  colour;  in  the  "  new  Boulle" 
it  was  laid  on  a  vermilion  or  gilt  ground.  A  beautiful  ex- 
ample of  the  latter  faces  page  403.  This  table  belongs  to 
Mrs.  Andrew  Symonds  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  having  de- 
scended to  her  through  the  Breaux  family  of  New  Orleans. 
The  shell  used  is  that  of  the  hawk's-bill  turtle,  or  tortoise. 
The  most  prized  scales  are  dark  brown  with  light  golden 
spots. 

Boulle  also  used  ebony,  pearl  shells,  ivory  and  woods. 
That  he  worked  in  wood-marquetry  we  have  proof  from 
an  Inventaire  prepared  by  him  after  a  tire  had  destroyed  his 
workshop  in  1720.  He  mentions  :  "Five  boxes  filled  with 
different  Howers,  birds,  animals,  leaves,  and  ornaments  in 
all  kinds  of  natural  colours,  the  greater  number  by  Boulle 
perey  made  in  his  youth.  Twelve  cases  of  all  kinds  of  col- 
oured rare  woods."      He  valued  these  at  8,000  livres. 

Boulle,  who  was  also  a  sculptor,  frequently  chased  the 
mouldings,  feet,  etc.,  for  his  works. 

The  sons  and  pupils  of  Boulle  sometimes  used  horn,  col- 
oured blue  or  red,  instead  of  tortoise-shell.  Among  them 
may  be  mentioned  Philippe  Poitou,  who  became  the  King's 
marquetry- worker  in  1698.  The  Crescents,  father  and 
son,  who  also  made  furniture  enriched  with  ornaments  of 
copper  and  shell,  acquired  fame  during  the  Regency.  The 
son  was  ^*ehemste  des  palats  du  due  d'  Orleans ^ 

At  the  period  of  Boulle's  popularity  in  France,  Eng- 
land's sumptuous  furniture  was  silver  beautifully  embossed. 
A  great  interest  was  taken  in  carving  in  wood  during  the 
last  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  but  Steele  includes 
in  a  humourous  paper  upon  Lady  Fardingale's  stolen  treas- 

♦07 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ures  (1710),  "a  small  cabinet  with  six  drawers  inlaid  with 
red  tortoise-shell  and  brass  gilt  ornaments  at  the  four  cor- 
ners," which  shows  that  BouUe  was  fashionable  in  Eng- 
land at  this  date. 

Porcelain  was  much  used  to  ornament  furniture  in 
Boulle's  day. 

The  Boulle  cabinet,  facing  page  406,  is  in  Memorial  Hall, 
Philadelphia.  It  has  onnoulu  mounts  ;  the  front  and  flap  of 
the  desk  are  inlaid  brass  and  tortoise-shell ;  the  columns  sup- 
porting the  pediment  are  twisted  with  Corinthian  capitals 
of  brass ;  the  pilasters  and  doors  are  of  brown  tortoise-shell ; 
the  Cupids  and  other  ornaments  are  gilt;  four  porcelain 
medallions  decorate  the  front,  two  are  portraits  of  Henri- 
etta Maria  and  Charles  I.,  the  other  two  are  mythological 
subjects.  The  front  hoofs  are  brass,  the  back  hoofs  of 
wood. 

The  two  marriage  coffers  ordered  by  the  king  on  the 
occasion  of  the  marriage  of  his  son,  the  Grand  Dauphin, 
to  Marie  Christine  de  Bavaria,  were  probably  the  most 
ornate  work  of  this  celebrated  ebeniste. 

Another  fine  specimen  of  Boulle's  work,  a  cabinet, 
said  to  have  been  made  for  the  Cardinal  de  Retz,  is  pre- 
served at  Windsor  Castle. 

A  very  ornate  cabinet  by  Boulle,  owned  by  the  Mu- 
seum of  Fine  Arts,  Boston,  faces  this  page. 

The  difference  between  furniture  characteristic  of  the 
seventeenth  and  that  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  suffi- 
ciently marked  to  be  startling  to  one  who  has  not  studied 
the  subject;  he  would  make  a  grievous  error  in  assum- 
ing that  the  change  was  sudden  or  abrupt.  Even  people 
who  take  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  decorative  arts, 
often  speak  of  styles  of  ornament  as  if  each  were  a  separate 

408 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


and  independent  creation,  springing  to  life 
from  one  great  brain,  in  full  panoply,  like 
Minerva.  They  also  imagine  that  the  old 
order  immediately  passes  away,  falling  like 
blossoms    before     the    first   frosts.       The 
transitional   period  with   its  modifications 
and    developments    is    entirely 
lost  sight  of,  the  distinct  char- 
acteristics of  each  style  only  be- 
ing considered.    This  tendency 
to  draw  sharp  dividing  lines  be- 
tween periods  is  partly  account- 
able for  the  fact  that,  as  we  shall 
see,    the    name    Chippendale  is 
loosely  used  as  a  designation  for 
a  whole  period  of  furniture  to 
which   manv  artists  and  crafts- 
men contributed.      Some  space  may  therefore  be  profitably 
devoted  to   bridging  the  gulf  between  Jacobean  furniture 
and  that  which  appears  in  Chippendale's  book. 

It  is  only  when  art  is  at  a  low  ebb  in  a  community  that 
a  medley  of  moveables  is  found  in  wealthy  homes ;  even 
the  discovery  of  the  strange  products  of  the  East  and  their 
importation  soon  brought  about  a  demand  for  buildings 
and  interior  decoration  in  character  with  Oriental  furniture 
and  ceramics,  as  we  shall  see. 

In  Mediieval  halls,  the  furniture  is  cumbrous  and  solid, 
in  sympathy  with  the  heavily  carved  wall  and  rafter,  and 
seems  almost  to  form  part  of  the  architectural  decoration. 
In  such  a  setting,  furniture  of  delicate  and  graceful  form 
would  have  been  out  of  place.  When,  therefore,  we  re- 
member   that  furniture  contributed   to    effects  of  interior 


MAHOGANY  CHAIR 

From  the  Glen.Sandcn  house,  Scotia,  N.  Y. 
See  page  463. 


409 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

decoration,  we  can  readily  understand  why  it  was  specially 
designed   by  great  artists,  carvers  and  architects. 

Let  us  now  take  a  rapid  survey  of  those  who  influenced 
the  new  developments. 

Philibert  de  TOrme  (died  1570)  designed  chimney- 
pieces  decorated  with  terminal  figures,  scrolls,  escutcheons, 
etc. 

Mathurin  Jousse  was  a  designer  in  metal  mountings, 
etc.  His  book  (1627)  figures,  also,  a  kind  of  invalid  chair 
that  can  be  propelled  by  the  occupant,  and  a  four-post  bed 
with  an  early  form  of  casters. 

Jean  Berain  (1636— 171  i)  employed  his  talents  freely 
on  the  decoration  of  rooms  and  furniture. 

Jean  Le  Pautre,  who  studied  under  a  cabinet-maker 
named  Philippon  and  died  in  1682,  designed  tables,  chim- 
ney-pieces, mirrors,  gueridonSy  etc.  His  works,  published 
in  I  73  I,  are  full  of  French  Renaissance  details  which  must 
have  been  of  great  use  to  the  English  cabinet-makers,  who, 
like  Chippendale,  delighted  in  florid  carving.  Moreover, 
his  motives,  doubtless,  crossed  the  Channel,  and  were  known 
to  the  native  carvers  forty  years  before  his  works  were  pub- 
lished in  Paris,  for  a  pupil  of  his,  Daniel  Marot,  was  one 
of  the  many  skilful  Huguenots  employed  in  this  branch  of 
art  who  were  forced  to  leave  their  country  by  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  He  went  to  Holland  in  1686, 
and  when  the  Prince  of  Orange  became  William  HI.  of 
England,  three  years  later,  Marot  became  his  chief  archi- 
tect and  master  of  works.  Staircases,  panelling  and  all  gen- 
eral furniture  were  among  his  numerous  designs.  He  had 
become  acquainted  with  the  latest  Dutch  marquetry  de- 
signs, and  the  Oriental  wares  with  which  the  Low  Coun- 
tries were  being  inundated.      His  influence,  therefore,  in 

410 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

introducing  the  so-called  Queen  Anne  style,  must  have  been 
very  potent. 

In  England,  Marot  found  architects  and  workmen  who 
were  receptive  and  progressive.  Inigo  Jones,  who  died  in 
1653,  had  already  worked  in  the  Renaissance  style.  His 
Classic  chimney-pieces  were  carved  in  wood,  stone  and  mar- 
ble by  imported  Italians.  Foreign  labour,  however,  was 
not  required  now,  for  an  English  school  of  carving  of  the 
highest  ability  had  arisen,  and  at  its  head  was  the  famous 
Grinling  Gibbons  (1650— 1721),  who  in  addition  to  his 
other  work,  carved  wall-panels,  mirror-frames  and  chim- 
ney-pieces. His  most  renowned  pupils  were  Watson,  Doe- 
vot  of  Brussels  (died  171  5)  and  Laurens  of  Mechlin. 

Designs  in  interior  decoration  and  furniture  were  de- 
parting widely  from  what  the  conservative  element  consid- 
ered advisable.  Protests  were  soon  heard  against  this 
license.  In  1697,  Evelyn  writes:  "As  certain  great  mas- 
ters invented  certain  new  corbels,  scrolls  and  modilions, 
which  were  brought  into  use  ;  so  their  followers  animated 
by  their  example  (but  with  much  less  judgment)  have  pre- 
sumed to  introduce  sundry  baubles  and  trifling  decorations  (as 
they  fancy)  in  their  works.  .  .  .  And  therefore,  tho'  such 
devices  and  inventions  may  seem  pretty  in  cabinet-work, 
tables,  frames  and  other  joyners-work  for  variety,  to  place 
china  dishes  upon;  one  would  by  no  means  encourage  or 
admit  them  in  great  and  noble  buildings." 

Evelyn  evidently  alludes  to  the  work  of  Borromini, 
Berain,  Marot  and  their  followers,  who  were  bringing  se- 
verity and  restraint  into  disfavour.  Marot  was  only  one  of 
many  foreigners  who  worked  in  England.  A  list  of  the  for- 
eigners in  London,  soon  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  in  1685,  reveals  a  great  number  of  Huguenot  join- 

4«« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ers,  carvers  and  goldsmiths.  It  is  well  known  that  this  exile 
drained  France  of  many  of  her  most  skilful  workmen,  and 
proportionately  enriched  England,  Germany  and  the  Neth- 
erlands. French  art,  moreover,  was  imparted  to  the  Eng- 
lish cabinet-makers  by  many  of  the  French  designers  and 
artists  who  visited  and  sometimes  took  up  their  residence 
in  England.  Among  others,  J.  B.  Monnoyer,  commonly 
called  Baptiste,  died  in  London  in  1 699.  Samuel  Gribelin 
was  another  who  worked  chiefly  in  England,  and  died  there 
in  1733.  In  1682,  he  published  A  Book  of  severall  Orna- 
ments. Later  publications  of  his  were  A  Book  of  Ornaments 
useful  to  feivelers^  Watchmakers  and  all  other  Artists  (1697) 
and  A  New  Book  of  Ornaments  useful  to  all  Artists.  Until 
the  death  of  C^een  Anne,  however,  it  was  the  Dutch  rather 
than  the  French  that  dominated  English  taste. 

Sir  Christopher  Wren  (1632— 1723)  superintended  the 
furnishing  and  decorations  of  Queen  Mary's  apartments  in 
Hampton  Court  Palace.  There  were  alcoves  in  the  din- 
ing-room for  sideboard  tables,  and  the  carved  chimney- 
pieces  had  receding  shelves  for  china.  There  were  also 
tables  with  carved  and  gilt  frames  and  tops  of  coloured 
marble. 

Mary  had  acquired  at  The  Hague  a  mania  for  the  col- 
lection of  china  ornaments,  and  on  her  accession  this  had  a 
great  influence  in  spreading  the  fashion.  Lord  Notting- 
ham wrote  in  1689  that  the  (^een  visited  many  "India 
houses"  (curiosity  shops).  The  exchange  of  porcelain  for 
ladies'  cast-off  clothing  became  a  recognized  trade. 

William  Kent  (1684— 1748)  designed  most  of  the  fur- 
niture at  Houghton^  the  seat  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole.  Hor- 
ace Walpole  doubted  his  good  taste ;  he  says :  **  Chaste  as 
these  ornaments  were,  they  were  often  immeasurably  pon- 

412 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

derous.  His  chimney  pieces,  though  lighter  than  those  of 
Inigo,  whom  he  imitated,  are  frequently  heavy  ;  and  his 
constant  introduction  of  pediments  and  the  members  of 
architecture  over  doors  and  within  rooms,  was  dispropor- 


CHAIR 


Owned  by  Min  Sherburne,  Warner  Houk,  Portsmouth,  N.  H.     See  page  456. 


tionate  and  cumbrous.  Kent's  style,  however,  predomi- 
nated authoritatively  during  his  life;  and  his  oracle  was  so 
much  consulted  by  all  who  affected  taste,  that  nothing  was 
thought  complete  without  his  assistance.  He  was  not  only 
consulted  for  furniture,  as  frames  of  pictures,  glasses,  tables, 
chairs,  etc.,  but  for  plate,  for  a  barge,  for  a  cradle.     And 


413 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

so  impetuous  was  the  fashion,  that  two  great  ladies  pre- 
vailed on  him  to  make  designs  for  their  birthday  gowns. 
The  one  he  dressed  in  a  petticoat  decorated  with  columns 
of  the  live  orders;  the  other,  like  a  bronze,  in  a  copper- 
coloured  satin  with  ornaments  of  gold." 

The   English,   Dutch  and   Portuguese  trade   with   the 


<r>s%. 


MAHOGANY  CHAIRS 
Owned  by  Stephen  Girard,  now  in  Girard  College,  Philadelphia.      See  page  463. 

East  had  greatly  affected  taste  in  furniture  during  the  sec- 
ond half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  An  early  lover  of 
Chinese  art  was  Cardinal  Mazarin.  He  hit  upon  an  in- 
genious way  of  bringing  Oriental  goods  into  prominence 
in  the  fashionable  world  as  early  as  1658.  An  entry  in  the 
diary  of  the  King's  cousin,  La  Grande  Mademoiselle,  re- 
lates how :  •*  He  took  the  two  queens,  the  princess  and 
myself  into  a  gallery  that  was  full  of  all  imaginable  kinds 

414 


thp:  furniture  of  our  forefathers 

of  stone-work,  jewelry  and  all  the  beautitul  things  that 
came  from  China,  crystal  chandeliers,  mirrors,  tables,  cabi- 
nets of  all  kinds,  silver  plate,  etc."  These  were  for  a  lot- 
tery in  which  every  one  was  to  have  a  prize. 

The  Cardinal  started  the  taste  for  Chinese  products  so 
successfully  that,  in  1686,  when  Count  Lauzun  and  the 
above  famous  princess  had  quarrelled,  the  count  could 
think  of  no  better  way  to  conciliate  her  than  by  sending 
her  a  cargo  of  Chinese  goods  from  England. 

At  this  period,  Paris  received  mOvSt  of  her  Orient?.? 
wares  through  London  or  Amsterdam,  though  later  there 
were  enormous  importations  through  L'Orient.  Evelyn 
notes  in  his  Diary ^  March  22,  1664:  **  One  Tomson,  a 
Jesuite  shewed  me  such  a  collection  of  rarities,  sent  from 
ye  Jesuites  of  Japan  and  China  to  their  order  at  Paris,  as 
a  present  to  be  received  in  their  repository,  but  brought  to 
London  by  the  East  India  ships  for  them,  as  in  my  life  I 
had  not  seen.  The  chiefe  things  were  rhinoceros's  horns  ; 
glorious  vests  wrought  and  embroidered  on  cloth  of  gold, 
but  with  such  lively  colors,  that  for  splendour  and  vividness 
we  have  nothing  in  Europe  that  approaches  it .  .  .  fanns 
like  those  our  ladies  use,  but  much  larger,  and  with  long 
handles  curiously  carved  and  filled  with  Chinese  characters; 
a  sort  of  paper  very  broad,  thin  and  fine  like  abortive  parch- 
ment, and  exquisitely  polished,  of  an  amber  yellow,  exceed- 
ingly glorious  and  pretty  to  looke  on  ;  several  other  sorts  of 
paper,  some  written,  other  printed ;  prints  of  landskips,  their 
idols,  saints,  pagods,  of  most  ugly  serpentine  monstrous  and 
hideous  shapes,  to  which  they  paid  devotion  ;  pictures  of 
men  and  countries  rarely  printed  on  a  sort  of  gum'd  calico 
transparent  as  glasse ;  flowers,  trees,  beasts,  birds,  etc.,  ex- 
cellently wrought  in  a  sort  of  sieve  silk  very  naturall." 

4«5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

In  1676,  he  says  that  Lord  Wotton's  "furniture  is  very 
particular  for  Indian  cabinets,  porcelane,  and  other  solid  and 
noble  moveables.'* 

We  have  already  seen  how  early  and  in  what  quantities 
all  kinds  of  Oriental  wares  reached  the  American  colonies. 

A  carved  ebony  cabinet  is  shown  on  the  frontispiece. 
It  belonged  to  Houqua,  a  mandarin  of  China,  and  is  now 
owned  by  Mrs.  Caleb  T.  Smith  of  Smithtown,  L.  I.  The 
two  ebony  chairs  and  table  on  the  opposite  page,  and  the 
ebony  chair  and  set  of  lacquer  tables  facing  page  424,  also 
belong  to  Mrs.  Smith  and  have  the  same  origin.  It  is  well 
known  that  fashion  in  China  is  not  very  mutable  and  there- 
fore that  the  styles  here  depicted  are  most  likely  the  same 
as  those  that  prevailed  during  the  period  we  have  been  ex- 
amining. The  ball-and-claw  feet  of  the  table  and  the  high- 
backed  chairs  with  turned  legs  may  well  have  been  proto- 
types of  early  eighteenth-century  furniture.  The  carved 
heads  on  the  armchair  (facing  page  424)  and  the  squat 
bulging  legs  with  claw  feet  are  curiously  familiar. 

It  can  be  readily  understood  how  the  interiors  of  rooms 
would  be  affected  when  porcelains  had  to  be  displayed  to 
the  best  decorative  advantage.  The  chimney-piece  suffered 
considerable  modifications.  Daviler,  in  his  Cours  d' archi- 
tecture (169 1),  says:  "The  height  of  the  cornice  (of  the 
chimney-pieces)  should  be  raised  six  feet  in  order  that  the 
vases  with  which  they  are  ornamented  may  not  be  knocked 
down." 

Marot's  designs  are  most  instructive  on  this  point. 
Some  show  high  cornices  and  door-tops  loaded  with  bowls 
and  vases,  and  the  walls  have  tiers  of  small  brackets  be- 
tween the  decorative  panels,  each  holding  a  piece  of  china. 
An  over-mantel,  nearly  sixteen  feet  in  height,  is  adorned 

416 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

with  eleven  carved  images  and  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
cups,  vases  and  bowls  arranged  symmetrically;  the  varied 
sizes  and  shapes  produce  a  splendid  effect.  The  adjoining 
wall-panel  is  painted  with  four  subjects  in  tier  that  are 
clearly  recognizable  as   Chinese, — a  temple,  some    figures 


v^ 


MAHOGANY  CHAIRS 
Owned  by  Mn.  W^inwrighr,    Hartford,  Conn. 


See  page  463. 


and  vsome  kind  of  dragon  being  the  most  characteristic, 
Marot's  willingness  to  adopt  Oriental  subjects  for  interior 
decoration  shows  what  public  taste  was  beginning  to  de- 
mand. His  successors  found  this  new  impulse  sweeping 
everything  before  it. 

From  the  acce.ssion  of  William  HI.  till  the  death  of 
Queen  Anne,  the  ties  between  England  and  the  Low  Coun- 
tries  were   very  close.      After    William's    death,    Marlbor- 

417 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ough's  campaign  enabled  thousands  of  English  officers  to 
become  acquainted  with  Flemish  art  and  fashions,  and 
made  them  hostile  to  everything  French.  The  "(^een 
Anne"  style  is  thus  essentially  Anglo-Dutch,  with  China  as 
a  dominant  note. 

In  171 1,  Addison  thus  describes  a  lady's  "library": 
*•  The  very  sound  of  a  Lady' s  Library  gave  me  a  great 
Curiosity  to  see  it ;  and  as  it  was  some  time  before  the  Lady 
came  to  me,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  turning  over  a  great 
many  of  her  Books  which  were  ranged  together  in  very 
beautiful  Order.  At  the  End  of  her  Folios  (which  were 
very  finely  bound  and  gilt)  were  great  jars  of  China,  placed 
one  above  another  in  a  very  noble  piece  of  Architecture. 
The  Quartos  were  separated  from  the  Octavos  by  a  Pile  of 
smaller  Vessels  which  rose  in  a  delightful  Pyramid.  The 
Octavos  were  bounded  by  Ten  dishes  of  all  Shapes,  Colours 
and  Sizes,  which  were  so  disposed  on  a  wooden  Frame, 
that  they  looked  like  one  continued  Pillar  indented  with 
the  finest  Strokes  of  Sculpture,  and  stained  with  the  great- 
est variety  of  Dyes.  That  Part  of  the  Library  which  was 
designed  for  the  Reception  of  Plays  and  pamphlets  and 
other  loose  Papers,  was  enclosed  in  a  kind  of  Square  con- 
sisting of  one  of  the  prettiest  grotesque  Works  that  I  ever 
saw,  and  made  up  of  Scaramouches,  Lions,  Monkies,  Man- 
darines, Trees,  Shells,  and  a  thousand  other  odd  Figures  in 
China  Ware.  In  the  midst  of  the  Room  was  a  littlejapan 
Table  with  a  quire  of  gilt  Paper  upon  it,  and  on  the  Paper 
a  Silver  SnufF-box  made  in  the  shape  of  a  little  Book.  I 
found  there  were  several  Counterfeit  Books  upon  the  upper 
Shelves,  which  were  carved  in  wood,  and  several  only  to 
fill  up  the  number." 

Cabinet-makers   of   that   day   bowed  gracefully  to  the 

418 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

prevailing  taste  and  imitated  Chinese  and  Japanese  work  in 
a  class  of  furniture  with  lac-work  panels  and  rich  gilt 
metal  mounts.  This  "black"  furniture  ornamented  in 
gold-dust  with  raised  Chinese  figure  designs  was  in  great 
demand.  It  found  its  way  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
sometimes  appears  in  the  inventories. 

In  1724,  Defoe  writes  that  china  is  piled  on  the  top 
of  cabinets,  secretaries  and  every  chimney-piece  to  the 
tops  of  the  ceilings,  on  shelves  set  up  to  hold  it. 

The  carved  objects  in  ivory,  ebony,  teak  and  other 
woods,  the  metal  wares,  the  pictures  on  silk  and  paper,  the 
fans,  and,  above  all,  the  porcelains  ornamented  with  scenes 
of  temple,  palace  and  cottage  architecture,  and  interior 
decorations,  opened  an  entirely  new  vista  of  art  and  orna- 
mental design. 

Sir  William  Chambers  is  generally  credited  with  the 
responsibility  for  this  Chinese  fad.  This,  however,  is  an 
entirely  erroneous  impression,  for  the  fashion  had  taken 
deep  root  long  before  he  published  the  sketches  and 
measurements  he  had  taken  in  Canton.  Indeed,  he  inti- 
mates that  he  is  partly  induced  to  give  them  to  the  world 
as  a  corrective.  In  his  preface  he  says :  **  It  was  not  my 
design  to  publish  them,  nor  would  they  now  appear,  were 
it  not  in  compliance  with  the  desire  of  several  lovers  of  the 
arts,  who  thought  them  worthy  of  the  perusal  of  the  pub- 
lick,  and  that  they  might  be  of  use  in  putting  a  stop  to  the 
extraordinary  fancies  that  daily  appear  under  the  name  of 
Chinese,  though  most  of  them  are  mere  inventions,  the 
rest  copies  from  the  lame  representations  found  on  porce- 
lain and  paper-hangings." 

Chippendale,  whose  work  had  been  published  four 
years  previously,  is  one  of  the  offenders  to  whom  he  al- 

4«9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 


MAHOGANY  CHAIR 

Originally  owned  by  Cornelia  Harring  Jones, 
now  by  Mrs.  John  Bleecker  Miller,  New  York. 
See  page  460. 


ludes.     In  the  very  year  in  which  he  pub- 
lished the  above,  two  books  appeared,  by 
Thomas   Johnson  and   by  Edwards   and 
Darly,  that  fully   illustrate   the   extrava- 
gances on  which  he  animadverts.   Among 
the    decorative    devices    are 
temple,      bridge,      summer- 
house,  hermitage,  alcove,or- 
chestra,    water-summer- 
house,  oval  landscape,  water- 
piece,     fishing    with     birds, 
landscape  with  archers,  fish- 
ing with  nets,  dragon  boats, 
pleasure  boats,  birds,  beasts, 
grand  bed,  palanquins,  arm- 
chair,   canopy,    philosopher, 
mandarin  and  soldier,  man- 
darin and  fakir,  procession,  tea-drinking,  flowers,  etc. 

A  still  earlier  publication  of  this  school  was  William 
Halfpenny's  New  Designs  for  Chinese  Temples ^  Triumphal 
Arches y  Garden-Seats,  Pali?igs,  etc.  (London,  1750— 1752.) 
The  author  was  a  carpenter  and  architect  and  he  was  as- 
sisted by  his  son.  Extravagant  fancy  could  hardly  excel 
their  designs.  Describing  a  **  Chinese  alcove  seat  "  front- 
ing four  ways,  they  suggest  that  "  above  the  crown  of  the 
cove  may  be  a  room  wherein  musicians  may  be  secreted 
and  play  soft  music  to  the  agreeable  surprise  of  strangers; 
the  performers  going  in  by  a  subterranean  passage."  A 
richly  carved  "  Chinese  settee"  of  the  Chippendale  school 
faces  page  430.  It  belonged  to  Governor  Wentworth 
and  is  still  owned  bv  his  devscendants,  in  the  Ladd  House, 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.      See  also  page  369. 


4Z0 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Besides  the  Chinese  craze,  a  kind  of  spurious  Gothic 
revival  affected  decorative  art  to  some  extent  towards  the 
middle  of  the  century.  No  review  of  the  period  would  be 
complete  without  some  attention  being  paid  to  this  move- 
ment. The  Gothic  style  had  fallen  into  ill-repute.  In 
1697,  John  Evelyn  calls  it  **a  certain  fantastical  and  licen- 
cious  manner  of  building  which  we  have  since  called 
Moiieni  (or  Gothic  rather)  conjestions  of  heavy,  dark,  melan- 
choly and  monkish  piles  without  any  just  proportion,  use 
or  beauty.  ...  So  when  we  meet  with  the  greatest  indus- 
try and  expensive  carving,  full  oi  fret  and  lamentable  Imagry 
a  judicious  spectator  is  distracted  and  quite  confounded.  .  .  . 
Not  that  there  is  not  something  of  solid  and  odly  artificial 
too,  after  a  sort :  but  then  the  universal  and  unreasonable 
thickness  of  the  walls,  clumsy  buttresses,  towers,  sharp- 
pointed  arches,  doors  and  other  apertures  without  propor- 
tion ;  nonsense  insertions  of  various  marbles  impertinently 
placed ;  turrets  and  pinnacles  thickset  with  Munkies  and 
chimeras  and  abundance  of  busy  work  and  other  incon- 
gruities dissipate  and  break  the  angles  of  the  sight  and  so 
confound  it  that  one  cannot  consider  it  with  any  steadiness. 
.  .  .  Vast  and  gigantic  buildings  indeed  but  not  worthy  the 
name  of  architecture." 

This  opinion  was  shared  by  most  people,  and  the  only 
thing  about  Gothic  architecture  that  was  valued  seems  to 
have  been  its  ruins.  Some  of  the  nobility  are  even  said  to 
have  dismantled  their  castles  purposely  ;  and  the  old  furni- 
ture was  utterly  despised.  The  formal  Dutch  gardens  also 
began  to  give  way  to  a  new  stvle  about  this  time,  and 
ruins  came  in  handy.  In  1728,  Batty  Langley  published 
The  Principles  of  Gardening.  One  plate  shows  *'an  ave- 
nue, in  perspective,  terminated  with  the  ruins  of  an  ancient 

4»« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

building  after  the  Roman  manner;"  and  eight  other  plates 
show  "  views  of  ruins  after  the  old  Roman  manner  for  the 
termination  of  walks,  avenues,  etc."  Some  of  these  are  of 
Classic  and  others  of  nondescript  Gothic  architecture. 
"Such  walks  that  end  in  disagreeable  objects"  are  to  be 
adorned  with  these  ruins  which  **  may  either  be  painted  upon 
canvas,  or  actually  built  in  that  manner  with  brick,  and 
covered  with  plastering  in  imitation  of  stone."  Ruins 
were  freely  used  as  decorative  accessories  by  the  contempor- 
ary French  masters  of  design,  and  the  English  carvers  were 
adopting  them  in  their  work.  Chippendale  makes  great 
use  of  ruins  as  well  as  the  other  details  of  rococo  ornament. 
The  gardens  of  the  day  supplied  the  designers  with  other 
suggestions  besides  floral  devices  and  ruins.  One  of  Lang- 
ley's  plates  shows  "  a  fountain  and  cascade  after  the  grand 
manner  at  Versailles."  He  adds :  "  When  figures  of  shell- 
work  are  erected  in  the  midst  of  fountains,  we  receive  a 
double  pleasure  of  a  fountain  and  cascade  also  by  the  waters 
agreeably  murmuring  down  the  rocky  shells."  It  is  this 
rock-and-shell  work  that  is  so  characteristic  of  Louis  Quinze 
work ;  and  of  which  Chippendale  liberally  avails  himself. 
In  1742,  Langley  brings  out  Ancient  Architecture.  It 
is  "  restored  and  improved  by  a  great  variety  of  grand  and 
useful  designs  entirely  new  in  the  Gothic  Mode  for  the 
ornamenting  of  buildings  and  gardens  exceeding  everything 
that's  extant."  The  author's  list  of  the  "  Encouragers  " 
includes  eighty-one  of  the  nobility,  two  bishops,  nine 
judges,  two  ladies  of  title,  sixteen  gentlemen,  three  carpen- 
ters, one  smith  and  one  mason.  Horace  Walpole's  name 
appears  on  the  list:  he  is  usually  credited  with  being  re- 
sponsible for  the  Gothic  revival,  but  he  did  not  buy  Straw- 
berry Hill  till  six  years  after  this  date,  and  not  till    1750 

4ax 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

does  he  announce  :  **  I  am  going  to  build  a  little  Gothic 
castle."  The  truth  is  that  he  merely  infused  new  life  into 
the  fashion,  for,  in  1756,  Ware  says :  "The  Gothic  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  antique  architecture  by  its  ornaments 
being  whimsical  and  its  profiles  incorrect.     The  inventors 


CHIPPENDALE  CHAIR 
la  the  houM  of  Mr.  Chariea  R.  Waten,  Salem,  Man.     See  page  462. 


of  it  probably  thought  they  exceeded  the  Grecian  method, 
and  some  of  late  have  seemed,  by  their  fondness  for  Gothic 
edifices,  to  be  of  the  same  opinion  ;  but  this  was  but  a  ca- 
price, and,  to  the  credit  of  our  taste,  is  going  out  of  fash- 
ion again  as  hastily  as  it  came  in.  .  .  .  The  error  of  the 
late  taste  has  been  in  attempting  to  bring  the  Gothic  into 
use  in  smaller  buildings,  in  which  it  can  never  look  well." 
The  influential  list  of  Langley's  **  Encouragers  "  shows 

4»$ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  fashionable  vogue  of  the  so-called  Gothic  in  1742. 
Mrs.  Delanv's  letters  also  show  that  Walpole  was  follow- 
ing rather  than  introducing  a  style.  In  1754,  she  writes: 
*'  I  am  working  stools  in  worsted  chenille  for  the  Gothic 
cell."  Two  years  later,  in  describing  Lady  Oxford's  house, 
she  mentions  a  great  Gothic  hall,  and  adds:  "The  chapel 
is  to  be  new  built  in  the  same  taste  ;  th'e  alterations  Lady 
Oxford  made  in  this  place  cost  above  40,000  pounds,  and 
her  apartment  is  the  prettiest  thing  I  ever  saw,  consisting 
of  a  skylight  antechamber  or  vestibule,  adorned  in  the 
Gothic  way.  The  rooms  that  encompass  it  are  a  library, 
a  dressing-room,  a  room  fitted  up  with  china  and  Japan  of 
the  rarest  kinds,  and  a  Gothic  room  full  of  charming  pic- 
tures, and  embellished  with  everything  that  can  make  it 
look  gay  and  pleasant:  it  is  lighted  by  a  window  some- 
thing of  the  Venetian  kind,  but  prettier,  and  the  whole 
breadth  of  one  side  of  the  room." 

Again,  in  1758,  she  writes:  "My  closet  is  just  hung 
with  crimson  paper,  a  small  pattern  that  looks  like  velvet; 
as  soon  as  dry,  I  shall  put  up  my  pictures ;  and  I  am  going 
to  make  a  wreath  to  go  round  the  circular  window  in  the 
chapel,  of  oak  branches,  vines  and  corn  ;  the  benches  for 
the  servants  are  fixed,  the  chairs  for  the  upper  part  of  the 
chapel  are  a  whim  of  mine,  but  I  am  not  sure  till  I  see  a 
pattern  chair  that  I  shall  like  it  ;  it  is  to  be  in  the  shape 
and  ornamented  like  a  Gothic  arch." 

Walpole  was  one  of  the  few  who  recognized  that  the 
"Gothic"  of  his  day  was  not  the  real  thing.  In  1790,  the 
Gentleman  s  Maga-zine  says: 

"Through  the  inability  of  his  architects,  particularly 
of  Langley  (who,  though  esteemed  capital  in  his  day,  knew 
nothing  of  the  art  of  constructing  modern   Gothic),  his 

4*4 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

ideas  were  never  properly  executed.  Mr.  VValpole  often 
complained  they  were  rather  Moorish  than  Gothic;  how- 
ever he  could  not  at  that  day  procure  better  assistance.  He 
was  always,  however,  among  the  lirst  to  depreciate  his  own 
architecture." 

It  would  seem  that  the  English  cabinet-makers  of  this 
period  had  fallen  into  the  very  reprehensible  practice  of 
making  furniture  without  any  reference  to  the  interior 
decoration  of  the  houses.  Chinese,  Gothic  and  French 
Renaissance  schemes  of  decoration  had  played  havoc  with 
Classic  ideals,  and  the  sacred  Five  Orders  were  in  danger  of 
losing  their  authority  even  in  England.  In  1740,  Langley 
calls  attention  to  this  in  I'he  City  and  Comitry  Builder  s  and 
IVorkmen  s  Treasury  of  Designs  : 

"  The  great  pleasure  that  builders  and  workmen  of  all 
kinds  (those called  Cabinet-Makers,  I  think,  only  excepted), 
have  of  late  years  taken  in  the  study  of  architecture  has 
induced  me  to  the  compiling  of  this  work.  And  indeed  I 
am  very  sorry  that  cabinet-makers  should  have  been  supine 
herein;  because  of  all  small  architectural  works,  none  is 
more  ornamental  to  buildings  than  theirs. 

"  The  evil  genius  that  so  presides  over  cabinet-makers  as 
to  direct  them  to  persevere  in  such  a  pertinacious  and  stupid 
manner  that  the  rules  of  architecture,  from  whence  all 
beautiful  proportions  are  deduced,  are  unworthy  of  their 
regard,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  discover  ;  except  Murcea,  the  God- 
dess of  Sloth,  acts  that  part  and  has  thus  influenced  them 
to  conceal  their  dronish,  low-life,  incapacities  and  prompt 
them,  with  the  fox  in  the  fable,  to  pronounce  grapes  sour 
that  ripen  out  of  their  reach. 

"  Cabinet-makers  originally  were  no  more  than  Spurious 
Indociblc   Chips,  expelled  by  joiners  for  the  superfluity  of 

4»5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

their  sap,  and  who,  by  instilling  stupid  notions  and  prejudice 
to  architecture  into  the  minds  of  youth  educated  under  them 
has  been  the  cause  that  at  this  time  'tis  a  very  great  diffi- 
culty to  find  one  in  fifty  of  them  that  can  make  a  book- 
case, etc.,  indispensably  true  after  any  one  of  the  Five  Orders 
without  being  obliged  to  a  joiner  for  to  set  out  the  work 
and  make  his  templets  to  work  by. 

**  But  if  these  gentlemen  persist  much  longer  thus  to  de- 
spise the  study  of  this  noble  art,  the  very  basis  and  some  of 
their  trade,  which  now  to  many  joiners  is  well  understood, 
they  will  soon  find  the  bad  consequence  of  so  doing  and  have 
time  enough  on  their  hands  to  repent  of  their  folly.  And 
more  especially  since  that  our  nobility  and  gentry  delight 
themselves  now  more  than  ever  in  the  study  of  architecture 
which  enables  them  to  distinguish  good  work  and  work- 
men from  assuming  pretenders." 

He  gives  more  than  four  hundred  designs,  including 
buffets,  cisterns,  chimney-pieces,  pavements,  frets,  clocks, 
frames  for  marble  tables  "  after  the  French  manner,"  marble 
and  stone  tables,  for  grottos,  arbors  in  gardens,  pedestals  for 
sun-dials  and  busts,  a  chest  of  drawers,  medal  case,  cabinet 
of  drawers  and  a  dressing-table  all  "  enriched  after  the  French 
manner."  The  dressing-table  is  also  draped :  this,  as  well  as 
the  table-frames,  are  most  interesting  as  being  frankly  taken 
from  the  French  and  showing  much  of  the  carved  orna- 
mentation  that  appears  still  further  developed  in  Chippen- 
dale's book  fourteen  years  later. 

Following  thevse,  come  "eight  designs  of  book-cases, 
which,  if  executed  by  a  good  joiner,  and  with  beautiful 
materials,  will  have  good  effects,  or  even  if  by  a  cabinet- 
maker, provided  that  he  understands  how  to  proportion 
and  work  the  Five  Orders,  which  at  this  time,  to  the  shame 

426 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  that  trade  be  it  spoken,  there  is  not  one  in  a  hundred 
that  ever  employed  a  moment's  thought  therein,  or  knows 
the  Tuscan  from  the  Doric,  or  the  Corinthian  from  the 
Composite  Order,  and  more  especially  if  the  Doric  freeze 


MAHOGANY  CHAIRS 
Originally  belonging  to  Philip  Van  Renuelaer,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Edward  Rankin  at  Cbtrry  Hil/f 
Albany,  N.  Y.     Sec  page  463. 


hath  its  triglyphs  and  mutules  omitted.  In  short  the  ul- 
timate knowledge  of  these  sort  of  workmen  is  generally 
seen  to  finish  with  a  monstrous  Cove,  or  an  Astragal,  crowned 
with  a  Cima  Reversa,  in  an  open  pediment  of  stupid  height. 
"  When  a  Gentleman  applies  himself  with  a  good  design 
of  a  book-case,  etc.,  made  by  an  able  architect,  to  most  of 


4*7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  masters  in  this  trade,  they  instantly  condemn  it  and 
allege  that  'tis  not  possible  to  make  cabinet-works  look 
well  that  are  proportioned  by  the  Rules  of  Architecture ; 
because,  they  say,  the  members  will  be  too  large  and  heavy, 
etc.,  whereas  the  real  truth  is  that  they  do  not  understand 
how  to  proportion  and  work  the  members  of  those  designs 
and  therefore  advise  the  unwary  to  accept  of  such  Stuff  as 
their  poor  crazy  capacities  will  enable  them  to  make,  and 
wherein  'tis  always  seen  that  the  magnitudes  of  their  Coves 
and  Cima  Reversas  (their  darling  finishing)  are  much 
larger  members  than  any  members  of  a  regular  cornice 
(even  of  the  Tuscan  Order)  of  the  same  height,  wherefore 
'tis  evident  that  all  their  assertions  of  this  kind  are  used  for 
nothing  more  than  to  conceal  an  infinite  fund  of  stubborn 
ignorance  which  cannot  be  parallelled  by  any  other  set  of 
mortals  in  the  world." 

No  examination  of  the  influences  that  affected  English 
work  during  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  would 
be  adequate  unless  it  took  into  account  the  contemporary 
French  school  of  design.  The  goldsmiths,  artists  and  ar- 
chitects under  the  Regent  and  Louis  XV.  neglected  Classi- 
cal authority  and  frankly  adopted  Chinese  models  in  their 
designs,  as  well  as  Arabesques  with  ape-forms  and  floral  de- 
vices. Watteau  designed  furniture  and  did  not  disdain 
Chinese  panels.  It  must  be  remembered  that  he  spent  the 
year  171 9  in  England.  J.  Pillement,  who  did  so  much 
Chinese  work,  found  it  worth  while  to  bring  out  A  New 
Book  of  Chinese  Ornaments  in  London  in  1755. 

Nearly  every  decorative  artist  of  the  day  made  some  use 
of  the  Chinese.  However,  the  masters  of  rocaille  orna- 
mentation were  most  strongly  to  influence  Chippendale, 
since  England  already  had  had  her  own  Chinese  craze.      A 

428 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

most  important  leader  of  this  school  was  J.  A.  Meissonier, 
who  was  designer  of  orf^rerie  to  the  king.  Facility, 
power  and  entire  lack  of  restraint  characterised  his  designs. 
In  1754,  Cochin,  the  engraver,  published  a  satirical  "sup- 
plication to  goldsmiths,  chisellers,  carvers  of  woodwork  for 
apartments,  and  others,  by  a  society  of  architects."  In 
this,  the  goldsmiths  are  begged,  "  when  executing  an  arti- 


AN  ARMCHAIR  AND  TWO  SHERATON  CHAIRS 

Bdwo^g  to  the  Fletcher  ^unily.  From  the  collection  of  the  Wayside  Inn,  Sudbury,  Mass.      Owned  by 

Mr.  £.  R,  Lemon.     See  page  461. 


choke,  or  a  head  of  celery  in  its  natural  size  on  some  piece 
of  carved  work,  to  be  good  enough  not  to  place  beside  it  a 
hare  as  big  as  one's  linger,  a  life-size  lark,  and  a  pheasant 
one-fourth  or  one-rifth  of  its  natural  size  ;  children  of  the 
same  size  as  a  vine-leaf;  or  figures  of  supposed  natural  size 
supported  by  a  decorative  Hower  that  could  scarcely  bear  a 
little  bird  without  bending;  trees  with  trunks  slimmer  than 
one  of  their  own  leaves,  and  many  other  equally  sensible 
things  of  the  same  kind.  We  should  also  be  infinitely 
obliged  to  them  if  they  would  be  good  enough  not  to  alter 

4»9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  uses  of  objects  but  to  remember,  for  instance,  that  a 
chandelier  should  be  straight  and  perpendicular,  in  order  to 
carry  the  light,  and  not  twisted  as  if  somebody  had 
wrenched  it ;  and  that  a  socket-rim  should  be  concave  to 
receive  the  running  wax  and  not  convex  to  shed  it  back 
upon  the  chandelier ;  and  a  multitude  of  other  no  less  un- 
reasonable particulars  that  would  take  too  long  to  men- 
tion. Similarly,  carvers  of  the  interior  decorations  of  rooms 
are  begged  to  be  obliging  enough,  when  executing  their 
trophies,  not  to  make  a  scythe  smaller  than  an  hour-glass, 
a  hat  or  Basque-drum  larger  than  a  bass-viol,  a  man's  head 
smaller  than  a  rose,  nor  a  sickle  as  large  as  a  rake." 

In  their  supposed  reply  to  this  supplication,  the  follow- 
ers of  the  new  design  say  in  part :  ".  .  It  was  necessary  to 
find  another  kind  of  architecture  in  which  every  worker 
could  distinguish  himself  and  make  the  public  acquainted 
with  a  way  of  becoming  skillful  that  should  be  within 
everybody's  reach ;  nevertheless,  accepted  prejudices  were 
not  to  be  rudely  shocked  by  the  sudden  production  of 
novelties  too  remote  from  the  reigning  taste,  thereby  run- 
ning the  risk  of  hissing.  At  first,  the  famous  Oppenord 
served  us  with  great  zeal.  .  .  He  made  lavish  use  of  our 
favourite  ornaments  and  brought  them  into  good  credit. 
Even  now  he  is  useful  to  us,  and  there  are  some  of  us 
who  take  him  for  a  model.  .  .  We  found  a  firmer  support 
in  the  talents  of  the  great  Meissonier.  It  is  true  that  the 
latter  had  studied  in  Italy,  and  consequently  was  not  one  of 
us,  but  as  he  had  wisely  preferred  the  taste  of  Borromini 
to  the  wearisome  taste  of  the  antique,  he  had  thereby  ap- 
proached us;  for  Borromini  rendered  the  same  service  to 
Italy  that  we  have  to  France,  by  introducing  there  an  ar- 
chitecture gay  and  independent  of  all  those  rules  that  of  old 

430 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

were  called  good  taste.  Meissonier  commenced  to  destroy 
all  the  straight  lines  that  were  used  of  old ;  he  turned  and 
made  the  cornices  bulge  in  every  way  ;  he  curved  them 
above  and  below,  before  and  behind,  gave  forms  to  all, 
even  to  the  mouldings  that  seemed  least  susceptible  of 
them  ;  he  invented  contrasts; — that  is  to  say,  he  banished 
symmetry,  and  made  no  two  sides  of  the  panels  alike.  On 
the  contrary,  these  two  sides  seemed  to  be  trving  which 
could  get  farthest  away,  and  the  most  strangely,  from  the 
straight  line  that  till  then  they  had  been  subject  to." 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  echo  the  irony  ; — much  less  in- 
dignation— of  the  critic  of  this  artist  who  exercised  so  great 
an  influence  on  the  decorative  art  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  charge  of  having  been  lacking  in  simplicity,  of  carry- 
ing to  extreme  limits  curved  lines,  scrolls,  shell-work  and 
all  that  fantastic  architecture  of  a  period  that  had  taken  a 
dislike  to  everything  that  was  dry  and  angular,  does  not 
trouble  us,  who,  on  the  contrary,  think  that  these  artists 
carried  spirit  and  grace  very  far.  The  designers  of  this 
school  paid  great  attention  to  shell-work,  just  as  those  of 
the  sixteenth  century  were  particularly  fond  of  architec- 
tural arrangements  (and  it  was  the  latter  taste  that  still 
dominated  English  design)  and  just  as  those  of  the  follow- 
ing reign  were  fascinated  by  the  garland  and  the  quiver. 
The  taste  of  the  Regency  is  as  attractive  to  the  present 
generation  as  that  of  the  Empire  is  chilling.  Meissonier's 
lines  are  essentially  voluptuous  and  almost  as  evssentially 
feminine.  Japanese  art  goes  much  further  in  the  direction 
of  contrasts  and  lack  of  equilibrium,  and  we  do  not  con- 
demn it.  The  rocaille  work  is  an  orgy  of  all  kinds  of 
flowing  lines,  curves,  cascades,  shells,  endive  leaves  and  even 
clouds  and  smoke.      Other   decorators  with   less  invention 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

followed  Meissonier,  such  as  Michel-Rene,  Stoldz  and 
Chevillon.  They  also  used  the  forms  drawn  from  the 
shell,  cabbage-leaf  and  prawn,  but  they  added  even  more 
vague  and  flowing  forms  such  as  fountains,  ostrich  plumes, 
etc.  La  Joue  is  even  a  past  master  in  the  art  of  introduc- 
ing into  a  decorative  panel  a  cascade  that  sometimes  falls, 
no  one  knows  whence,  and  breaks  into  pearled  foam. 
Everything  is  an  excuse  for  cascades ;  neighing  horses 
prancing  in  the  bath,  a  dragon  crawling  against  the  base 
of  a  column  and  spouting  water  from  open  jaws,  a  hunted 
stag  vomiting  a  stream  of  water  into  the  round  and  grooved 
basin  beside  which  he  has  taken  refuge. 

We  shall  shortly  see  the  tremendous  influence  that  the 
new  school  of  French  design  exercised  on  Chippendale, 
whose  book  appeared  in  the  very  year  in  which  Cochin's 
criticism  was  written.  Before  leaving  Meissonier,  how- 
ever, attention  should  be  called  to  the  intimate  relation- 
ship he  insists  on  between  interior  decorations  of  apart- 
ments and  their  furniture.  Take,  for  example,  one  of  his 
plates,  Projet  de  Porte  d'  Appartement  fait  pour  Mme.  la 
Baromie  de  Brezenval,  on  page  47  of  his  Oeuvre.  Here 
we  have  a  chair  on  each  side  of  the  door,  besides  a  table 
with  graceful  cabriole  legs  and  another  chair  in  the  room 
beyond.  This  furniture  not  only  corresponds  in  its  con- 
tours to  those  of  the  general  decorative  scheme,  but  the 
details  of  the  carving  on  the  framework  are  identical  with 
those  used  on  the  walls. 

Of  English  cabinet-makers,  the  name  that  overshadows 
all  others  is  that  of  Thomas  Chippendale.  Many  of  his 
successors  gained  a  renown  that  has  endured,  but  his  name  is 
popularly  used  as  a  generic  term  for  almost  all  the  furniture 
that  was   in    vogue  for   more  than  half  a  century.      It   is 

431 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

strange  that  scarcely  anything  is  known  of  one  to  whom 
such  great  influence  and  importance  are  now  generally  at- 
tributed. The  very  date  of  the  book  that  brought  Chip- 
pendale into  notice  is  variously  given,  though  there  should 
be    no  question  about  this.     His    preface  is  dated  March, 


CHIPPENDALE  CHAIR  AND  HEPPELWHITE  CARD  TABLE 
Owned  by  Miss  Trn  Eycic,  Albany,  N.  Y.      Sre  pge  462. 


1754,  and  in  April,  1754,  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  an- 
nounces, among  the  new  books  on  mechanics,  T/)e  Gen- 
tleman  s  and  Cahinet-Makers  Directory^  hy  Thomas  Chip- 
pendale^ ;^2-8-o.  The  third  and  last  edition  published 
by  him  appeared  in  1762.  In  all  probability,  the  author 
died  soon  after  this. 

The  only  facts  reported  about  him  are  that  he  was 
born  in  Worcestershire,  went  to  London  and  found  em- 
ployment as  a  joiner.      There,  in  the    reign  of  C»corge   I., 

433 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

he  was  a  successful  carver  and  cabinet-maker.  Some 
critics  hold  that  he  was  already  at  work  in  1720.  If  he 
was  eminent  in  his  craft  during  the  reign  of  George  I.  (/'. 
e.y  before  i  727),  he  can  scarcely  have  been  very  active  later 
than  1765,  or  more  than  forty  years  afterward.  It  is  not 
therefore  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  he  was  born  about 
1695  and  died  about  1765,  thus  reaching  man's  natural 
term  of  life. 

During  the  second  half  of  the  century,  there  were  cer- 
tainly two  Chippendales,  and  probably  several  of  the 
family  at  work.  In  1826,  George  Smith,  who  was  up- 
holsterer to  the  king,  issued  his  Cabinet-Makers  Guide.  In 
this  he  speaks  of  "  the  elder  Mr.  Chippendale"  and  adds: 
"  Mr.  Thomas  Chippendale  (lately  deceased)  and  known 
only  amongst  a  few,  possessed  a  very  great  degree  of  taste 
with  great  ability  as  a  draughtsman  and  designer."  Thus 
we  have  specific  evidence  that  there  were  at  least  two 
Chippendales,  and  that  one,  comparatively  obscure,  died 
shortly  before  1826.  The  latter,  although  an  able 
draughtsman  and  designer,  is  very  unlikely  to  be  the  same 
individual  that  had  published,  seventy  years  before,  a  book 
that  was  plainly  the  work  of  a  man  already  well  estab- 
lished in  business.  The  more  reasonable  conclusion  is 
that  at  least  two  Chippendales  were  engaged  in  designing 
as  well  as  making  furniture. 

The  lack  of  detailed  information  about  Chippendale 
would  argue  that  public  interest  in  him  was  not  very  keen, 
and  that  the  impression  produced  by  his  work  on  his  con- 
temporaries and  immediate  successors  was  not  profound. 
If  his  renown  had  been  great,  we  should  expect  to  hnd 
other  workmen  recommending  themselves  at  home,  and 
more  especially  on  going   to  the  colonies,  as  having  been 

434 


C/3 


^ 

•*• 

^ 

^ 

1 

'•*»'.r<*i    .^'♦^ 


#';?y(«V^j4d)  ^^^WeJJ*  ^  v>^ .-'  »,<  Jt 


C/3 

u 

PQ 

<    00 


<  -S 


rt 

^ 


^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

with  him,  and  as  being  able  to  make  his  well-known  fur- 
niture, so  greatly  in  demand.  We  should  also  anticipate 
finding  that  furniture  that  was  distinct  in  type  from  all  that 
had  gone  before  would  bear  the  name  of  the  famous  de- 
signer, and  that  others  would  recognize  his  authority  un- 
questioningly,  and  confessedly  follow  him. 

When  we  search  for  evidence  on  these  points,  we  reach 
very  curious  results.     Sheraton  ( 1 79 1 )  says  in  his  preface  : 


CHIPPENDALE    AND  SHKRATON    CHAIRS 
See  page  461. 


"  I  have  seen  one  (book  of  design)  which  seems  to  have 
been  published  before  Chippendale's.  I  infer  this  from 
the  antique  appearance  of  the  furniture,  for  there  is  no 
date  to  it;  but  the  title  informs  us  that  it  was  compased 
by  a  society  of  Cabinet-makers  in  London. " 

**  Chippendale's  book  seems  to  be  next  in  order  to  this, 
but  the  former  is  without  comparison  to  it,  either  as  to 
size  or  real  merit.  Chippendale's  book  has,  it  is  true, 
given  us  the  proportions  of  the  Five  Orders,  and  lines  for 
two  or  three  cases,  which  is  all  it  pretends  to  relative  to 
rules  for  drawing;  and,  as  for  the  designs,  themselves,  they 
are  now  wholly  antiquated  and  laid  aside,  though  possessed 

435 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

of  great  merit,  according  to  the  times  in  which  they  were 
executed.   .   .   . 

"  After  Chippendale's  work,  there  appeared,  in  the  year 
sixty-five,  a  book  of  designs  for  chairs  only,  though  it  is 
called  The  Cabinet-Maker  s  ?'eal  Frietid  arid  Companion, 
as  well  as  the  Chairmaker's.   .   .   . 

"The  succeeding  publication  to  this  seems  to  be  Ince 
and  Mayhew's  Book  of  Designs  in  Cabinet  and  Chair 
Worky  with  three  plates  containing  some  examples  of  fo- 
liage ornaments,  intended  for  the  young  designer  to  copy 
from,  but  which  can  be  of  no  service  to  any  learner  now, 
as  they  are  such  kind  of  ornaments  as  are  wholly  laid  aside 
in  the  cabinet-branch,  according  to  the  present  taste.  The 
designs  in  cabinets  and  chairs  are,  of  course,  of  the  same 
cast,  and  therefore  have  suffered  the  same  fate;  yet,  in  jus- 
tice to  the  work,  it  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  book  of 
merit  in  its  day,  though  much  inferior  to  Chippendale's, 
which  was  a  real  original,  as  well  as  more  extensive  and 
masterly  in  its  designs.    .    .    . 

"  In  the  year  1788  was  published  the  Cabinet-Maker  s 
and  Upholsterer  s  Guide.  But  notwithstanding  the  late  date 
of  Heppelwhite's  book,  if  we  compare  some  of  the  designs, 
particularly  the  chairs,  with  the  newest  taste,  we  shall  find 
that  this  work  has  already  caught  the  decline,  and  perhaps, 
in  a  little  time,  will  suddenly  die  in  the  disorder." 

From  the  above  testimony,  which  certainly  is  not  hos- 
tile to  Chippendale,  we  gather  that,  forty  years  after  its  ap- 
pearance, his  book  was  entirely  neglected,  notwithstanding 
the  real  talent  displayed.  We  also  gather  that  Sheraton 
does  not  regard  Chippendale  as  a  great  innovator  who 
revolutionized  the  furniture  of  his  day  and  introduced  a 
radically  new  style.      Moreover,  he  considers  the  furniture 

436 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

in  a  certain  book  to  be  more  antiquated  than  Chippen- 
dale's, and  thence  argues  that  it  must,  therefore,  have  been 
pubHshed  before  his.  The  fact  is  that  the  book  referred 
to  came  out  six  years  later  than  Chippendale's,  and  its  de- 
signs are  like  the  latter  in  general  form.  If,  however, 
Sheraton  is  correct  in  saying  that  it  does  represent  furniture 
in  use  before  Chippendale  published  his  work,  we  may 
vsafely  conclude  that  it  was  only  in  the  ornamental  details 
that  the  furniture  of  the  day  was  affected  by  the  latter. 

George  Smith  published  Designs  for  Household  Furniture 
in  iHoS.  In  this,  he  bewails  the  fact  that  first-class  artists 
do  not  (as  they  do  in  France)  provide  designs  for  the  cabi- 
net-maker and  upholsterer.  He  adds  :  **  Very  great  en- 
couragement has  been  given  of  late  by  our  Nobility  and 
CJentry  to  various  artists  employed  in  cabinet-work,  the 
good  effects  of  which  will,  I  doubt  not,  soon  be  felt;  for 
as  the  beauty  of  the  Antique  consists  in  the  purity  of  de- 
sign, and  what  was  pleasing  centuries  ago  continues  to  be 
equally  so  now,  so  I  do  not  despair  of  seeing  a  style  of  fur- 
niture produced  in  this  country  which  shall  be  equally 
agreeable  centuries  hence." 

To  Mr.  Smith,  whose  unlovely  productions  were  being 
bought  by  the  Prince  Regent,  the  nobility  and  gentry,  it 
would  have  been  a  great  surprise  to  learn  that  **  Chippendale  " 
styles,  which  he  deemed  buried  beyond  resurrection, 
would  be  equally  pleasing  a  ceFitury  after  his  own  were  de- 
servedly forgotten.  It  is  remarkable  that  Chippendale 
might  never  have  existed  so  far  as  Mr.  Smith's  generation 
was  concerned.  Eighteen  vears  later,  he  finds  that  he  him- 
self has  become  antiquated,  but  takes  comfort  from  the 
fact  that  perfection  has  at  last  been  attained !  Describ- 
ing with  some  accuracy   the  sequence    oi  styles  in    Eng- 

417 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

lish  furniture  since  the  close  of  the  carved-oak  period,  he 
says: 

"  At  this  period  (Louis  XIV.)  the  whole  system  seems 
to  have  given  place  to  a  style  completely  Arabesque,  al- 
though blended  with  much  grandeur  peculiar  to  this  taste, 
and  brought  to  great  perfection  by  the  artists  then  em- 
ployed in  its  manufacture.  The  importation  of  it  into 
England  changed  the  whole  feature  of  design  as  it  related 
to  household  furniture.  This  taste  continued  almost  un- 
changed through  the  reign  of  George  II.  and  the  earlier 
part  of  George  III.  The  elder  Mr.  Chippendale  was,  I 
believe,  the  first  author  who  favoured  the  public  with  a 
work  consisting  of  designs  drawn  from  this  school,  with 
great  merit  to  himself,  however  defective  the  taste  of  the 
time  might  be.  To  this  work  succeeded  that  of  Mr.  Ince 
in  the  same  style.  From  this  period  to  the  time  of 
Messrs.  R.  and  J.  Adam,  the  same  species  of  design  con- 
tinued, with  little  or  no  alteration,  until  the  researches  of 
these  scientific  gentlemen  in  architecture  and  ornament 
were  made  public.  A  complete  revolution  in  the  taste  of 
design  immediately  followed  :  the  heavy  panelled  wall,  the 
deeply  coffered  ceiling,  although  they  offered  an  imposing 
and  grand  effect,  gave  way  to  the  introduction  of  a  light 
Arabesque  style  and  an  ornament  highly  beautiful.  But 
the  period  for  the  introduction  of  not  only  a  chaste  style  in 
architecture,  but  likewise  of  ornament  (and  which  extended 
to  our  domestic  moveables)  was  reserved  for  the  late  Mr. 
James  Wyatt,  whose  classic  designs  will  carry  his  name  to 
posterity  with  unimpaired  approbation.  Here  it  would  ap- 
pear almost  unnecessary  for  invention  to  have  gone  farther, 
but  perfection,  it  appears,  was  reserved  for  this  present 
period." 

438 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Apart  from  his  book,  which  brought  him  into  tem- 
porary prominence,  Chippendale  seems  to  have  been  an 
obscurely  prosperous  tradesman  who  catered  to  the  tastes  of 


IX)URLE  CORNER  CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mr.  Walter  Hotmer,  Wethertfield,  Conn.      See  (vige  460. 

ih'^  day.  His  biographer  in  the  exhaustive  Dictionary  of 
National  Biography  can  rind  little  more  to  say  of  him  than 
that  he  flourished  circa  i  760.  He  was  not  the  only  suc- 
cessful member  of  his  craft  in  London  during  the  rirst  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  if  we  may  believe  the  following 
advertisement  in  a  New  York  paper  in   1771  : 

439 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

**  To-morrow  will  be  sold  at  public  vendue  at  the  Mer- 
chants' Coffee  house  at  twelve  o'clock  by  John  Applegate, 
a  very  neat  set  of  carved  mahogany  chairs,  one  carved  and 
gilt  sideboard  table,  and  a  Chinese  hanging  bookcase  with 
several  other  things.  N.  B.  The  back  of  the  chairs  is  done 
after  the  pattern  of  some  of  the  (^leen's  ;  a  sketch  of  which 
chair  will  be  shown  at  the  time  of  the  sale.  The  chairs 
and  other  things  were  made  by  a  person  in  the  Jersies  who 
served  his  time  and  afterwards  was  eleven  years  foreman  to 
the  great  and  eminent  cabinet-maker,  William  Hallet,  Esq.; 
that  bought  the  line  estate  of  the  Duke  of  Shandos,  called 
Cannon's,  in  Middlesex;  was  afterwards  a  master  for  about 
twenty  years  in  London  and  hath  been  two  years  in  the 
Jersies.  He  will  receive  any  orders  fip*  furniture,  viz., 
Plate  cases  or  best  Chinese  hanging  book-cases  or  on  frames ; 
French  elbow  chairs,  ribbon  back,  Gothic  or  any  sort  of 
chairs,  likewise  carved,  glass  frames,  gerrandoles,  bracket 
branches,  etc." 

Who  was  Willim  Hallet,  Esq.?  The  great  Dictionary 
is  silent  concerning  him,  notwithstanding  his  purchase  of 
the  tine  estate  of  the  Duke  of  Chandos.  The  "person  in 
the  Jersies "  served  him  as  foreman  from  1738  to  1749. 
Were  the  chairs,  with  backs  "  done  after  the  pattern  of 
some  of  the  (^een's,"  of  Chippendale  design  ?  If  so,  it  ought 
to  have  been  worth  while  to  mention  that  fact  if  Chippen- 
dale was  a  recognized  authority,  and  to  have  claimed  the  lat- 
ter as  a  master  rather  than  **  the  great  and  eminent  cabinet- 
maker, William  Hallet,  Esq."  Even  if  the  advertisement 
was  a  catch-penny  scheme,  it  is  plain  that  in  1771  the 
name  of  Hallet  was  considered  a  better  bait  in  New  York 
than  that  of  Chippendale ;  and  this  was  only  nine  years  after 
the  latter  had   issued   the  third   edition  of  his  book.      It  is 

440 


u 


CO 


O  '^ 
^■^• 

<  . 

<  ^ 

X  -*» 

CQ 
< 


5? 


E 
^ 


CHIPPENDALE  STANDS 
In  Memorial  Hall,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     See  page  459. 


SETTEE 

Chi-ned  by  Mrs.  John  Marshall  Holcombe,  Hartford,  Conn.     See  page  459. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

also  worthy  of  note  that  no  tradesman  whose  advertisement 
I  have  seen  in  an  American  paper  prior  to  the  Revolution 
ever  mentions  the  name  of  Chippendale  in  recommending 
home-made  or  imported  furniture. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  following  facts :  before 
Chippendale  brought  out  his  book  in  1754,  he  was  no 
more  prominent  than  many  another  prosperous  cabinet- 
maker; thirty-five  years  later,  whatever  was  original  and 
peculiar  to  him  in  that  work  had  become  "  wholly  anti- 
quated and  laid  aside,"  and,  lastly,  he  never  attained  such  a 
commanding  position  in  his  profession  or  trade  as  did 
George  Kent  in  his,  for  instance. 

We  have  seen  that  hitherto  most  of  the  new  designs  in 
furniture  originated  with  artists  or  architects.  Chippendale 
was  only  a  not-very-eminent  carver  and  cabinet-maker. 
The  list  of  subscribers  to  his  book  includes,  besides  nobility, 
gentry,  joiners  and  carpenters,  eighty-three  London  cabinet- 
makers, ten  carvers  and  two  engravers.  M.  Darly  is  one 
of  the  engravers ;  and  W.  Ince  is  one  of  the  cabinet-makers. 
Ince  was  soon  to  publish  an  important  book  of  designs  to 
advertise  the  product  of  his  own  firm ;  and  Darly  was  Chip- 
pendale's assistant,  who  engraved  and  designed  some  of  his 
plates.  In  \jj7,y\\G\>\xh\\\!hc6.  A  Complete  Body  of  Architec- 
ture, "  embellished  with  a  great  variety  of  ornaments,  com- 
piled, drawn  and  engraved  by  Matthias  Darly,  Professor  of 
Ornament."  In  the  preface  he  says:  "Ornamental  draw- 
ing (drawing  of  ornament)  has  been  too  long  neglected  in 
this  trading  country  and  great  losses  have  been  sustained 
in  many  of  our  manufactures  for  want  of  it.  On  the 
knowledge  of  true  embellishment  depends  the  improve- 
ment of  every  article,  and  I  do  aver  that  this  kingdom 
is   more    indebted    to    a    Rich'd   Langcake    (who  is    now 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

teaching  the  art  of  design  in  France)  than  to  a  Sir  Godfrey 
Kneller." 

Chippendale  has  evidently  taken  to  heart  Langley's 
savage  attack  on  the  Englivsh  cabinet-makers  for  their  ignor- 
ance of  the  sacred  Five  Orders  (see  page  425).  It  has 
been  a  puzzle  to  many  critics  to  account  for  the  fact  that 
he  devotes  much  space  to  elucidating  that  style  of  architec- 
ture and  then  proceeds  to  give  designs  of  furniture  in  the 
prevailing  bastard  Gothic  and  Chinese  taste,  and  ornament 
the  rest  with  French  Renaissance  and  rocaille  details.  When 
we  remember  Langley's  wholesale  condemnation,  however, 
Chippendale's  lip-service  is  perfectly  explicable.  In  his 
preface,  the  latter  says  : 

"  Of  all  the  arts  which  are  either  improved  or  orna- 
mented by  Architecture,  that  of  Cabinet-making  is  not 
only  the  most  useful  and  ornamental,  but  capable  of  re- 
ceiving as  great  Assistance  from  it  as  any  whatever.  I 
have  therefore  pretixed  to  the  following  designs  a  short 
Explanation  of  the  Five  Orders.  Without  an  acquaintance 
with  this  Science  and  some  Knowledge  of  the  Rules  of 
Perspective,  the  Cabinet-maker  cannot  make  the  Designs 
of  his  work  intelligible,  nor  shew  in  a  little  Compass,  the 
whole  Conduct  and  Effect  of  the  Piece.  These,  therefore, 
ought  to  be  carefully  studied  by  everyone  who  would 
excel  in  this  Branch,  since  they  are  the  very  Soul  and 
Basis  of  his  Art." 

Having  thus  done  his  best  to  conciliate  the  architects, 
he  proceeds  to  explain  his  purpose  in  publishing: 

**  The  Title-Page  has  already  called  the  following 
Work,  *  The  CJentleman  and  Cabinet-Maker's  Director,'  as 
being  calculated  to  assist  the  one  in  the  Choice,  and  the 
other    in    the    Execution   of  the  Designs :      Which  are  so 

442 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

contrived,  that  it  no  one  Drawing  should  singly  answer  the 
CJentleman's  Taste,  there  will  yet  be  found  a  variety  ot 
Hints  sufhcient  to  construct  a  new  one." 

"  In  other  words,  the  main  object  is  to  induce  the  gentle- 
men to  buy !  First  discover  which  model  he  likes  and 
then  suit  him  with  the  enrichment ;  the  ornamentations  are 
not  necessarily  individually  appropriate,  but  are  interchange- 
able. If  his  taste  runs  to  the  Chinese  now  in  vogue,  here 
is  an  assortment  of  frets  from  which  to  select ;  if  Ciothic, 
here  are  a  few  examples  of  window  tracery;  if  he  likes 
riorid  carving,  here  is  a  storehouse  of  suggestions  conveyed 
from  the  French  Renaissance! 

"  I  have  been  encouraged  to  begin  and  carry  on  this 
Work  not  only  by  Persons  of  Distinction,  but  of  eminent 
taste  for  Performances  of  this  vsort ;  who  have,  upon  many 
Occasions,  signified  some  Surprise  and  Regret,  that  an  Art 
capable  of  so  much  Perfection  and  Retinement,  should  be 
executed  with  so  little  Propriety  and  Elegance. 

**  Upon  the  whole,  I  have  here  given  no  Design  but 
what  may  be  executed  with  Advantage  by  the  Hands  of  a 
skilful  Workman,  though  some  of  the  Profession  have  been 
diligent  enough  to  represent  them  (especially  those  after  the 
Gothic  and  Chinese  Manner)  as  so  many  specious  Draw- 
ings, impossible  to  be  worked  off"  by  any  Mechanic  what- 
soever. I  will  not  scruple  to  attribute  this  to  Malice, 
Ignorance,  and  Inability  ;  and  I  am  confident  I  can  con- 
vince all  Noblemen,  (Jentlcmen  and  others,  who  will  honour 
me  with  their  Commands,  that  every  Design  in  the  Book 
can  be  improved,  both  as  to  beauty  and  Enrichment,  in  the 
execution  of  it,  by 

"Their  most  Obedient  Servant, 
*  ,...         **  Thomas  Chippendale." 

443 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  though  Chippendale  puts  forth 
these  designs  as  within  the  ability  of  every  good  workman 
to  execute,  he  does  not  pretend  that  they  have  already  been 
produced,  except  in  some  instances  which  he  specifies.    In 


^-xj' 


CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mr.  Stephen  Schuyler,  Schuyler  House,  Troy  Road,  New  York.      See  page  464. 


many  cases  his  words  clearly  imply  that  the  designs  have 
yet  to  take  concrete  form,  and  in  at  least  two  instances 
this  is  distinctly  stated.  Thus:  "Gothic  bookcase:  one 
of  the  best  of  its  kind,  and  would  give  me  great  pleasure 
to  see  it  executed,  as  I  doubt  not  its  making  an  exceeding 
genteel  and  grand  appearance." 

Another   desk  and  bookcase  is  "  in   the    Chinese   taste 
and  will  look  extremely  well."      Considering  the  "malice. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ignorance  and  inability  "  of  his  rivals,  we  should  expect 
him  to  specify  the  designs  that  have  actually  been  carried 
out,  in  refutation  of  their  assertions,  but  he  instances  only 
the  following  :  "A  Design  of  a  Dressing  Table  for  a  Lady. 
Two  Dressing  Tables  have  been  made  of  Rosewood  from 
this  Design,  which  gave  an  entire  satisfaction.  All  the 
Ornaments  were  gilt." 

"  Design  for  a  couch  bed.  .  .  .  N.  B.  This  couch 
was  made  for  an  alcove  in  Lord  Pembroke's  House,  at 
Whitehall."  "  A  bed  that  has  been  made  for  the  Earls  of 
Dumfries  and  Morton." 

"  Three  designs  of  chairs  with  Ribband  Backs.  Sev- 
eral sets  have  been  made,  which  have  given  entire  satisfac- 
tion." 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  though  Chippendale  insists  on  the 
practicabilitv  of  all  his  designs  without  exception,  yet  in  his 
instructions  he  frequently  recognizes  that  the  carving  may 
be  excessive.  He  often  says  that  the  decoration  may  be 
reduced,  if  necessary,  without  diminishing  the  beauty  of 
the  design.  A  typical  suggestion  reads  :  **  The  ornaments 
may  be  omitted  if  thought  superHuous."  Above  all  else, 
Chippendale  was  a  carver  and  gilder  :  that  fact  is  stamped 
on  every  plate.  It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  over-esti- 
mate the  importance  he  attaches  to  carving.  A  few  exam- 
ples from  his  own  instructions  will  make  this  clear  :  "  A 
Design  of  a  Sofa  for  a  grand  Apartment,  and  will  require 
Great  Care  in  the  Execution,  to  make  the  several  Parts 
come  in  such  a  Manner  that  all  the  Ornaments  join  with- 
out the  least  Fault ;  and  if  the  Embossments  all  along  are 
rightlv  managed,  and  gilt  with  burnished  Gold,  the  whole 
will  have  a  noble  Appearance.  The  Carving  at  the  Top 
is  the  Emblem  of  Watchfulness,  Assiduity  and  Rest.     The 

44S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Pillows  and  Cushions  must  not  be  omitted,  though  they 
are  not  in  the  Design.  I  would  advise  the  workman  to 
make  a  model  of  it  at  large  before  he  begins  to  execute  it." 
Here  not  only  the  carver,  but  the  sculptor  and  clay-mod- 
eller speaks  !  **  Thirteen  Designs  of  Cornices  for  Beds  or 
Windows,"  some  of  them  are  crown-shaped,  and  the  carved 
ornaments  include  the  twisted  leaf,  urn  plain  and  draped, 
eagle,  birds  billing,  grotesque  head,  monkey  holding  a 
husk  garland  in  his  mouth,  and  birds  with  long  tails  and 
bills.  Among  eighteen  other  beds  one  **  may  be  gilt  or 
covered  with  the  same  stuff  as  the  curtains;  "  another  has 
pillars  "composed  of  reeds  with  a  palm  branch  twisted 
round."  Of  a  couch  with  canopy,  he  says:  "If  the  cur- 
tains and  valances  are  adorned  with  large  gold  fringe  and 
tassels  and  the  ornaments  gilt  with  burnished  gold,  it  will 
look  very  grand."  A  design  for  a  commode  table  and  two 
candle-stands  is  very  ornate  :  "  The  Bas  Relief  in  the  Mid- 
dle may  be  carved  in  Wood  or  cast  in  Brass  or  painted  on 
Wood  or  Copper.  That  part  in  the  middle  may  be  a  door 
with  ornaments  on  it  and  the  End  parts  in  the  same  man- 
ner. On  the  top  of  the  commode  is  a  design  of  a  Sur-tout, 
to  be  made  in  Silver.  A  candlestand  at  each  end  is  very 
proper."  The  commode  contains  a  panel  representing  three 
naked  boys  playing  and  landscape  behind  them,  framed  in 
garlands.  The  "  sur-tout  "  is  a  kind  of  candelabrum.  One 
candlestand  has  dolphins  at  its  base,  their  tails  curling  up- 
ward, and  two  boys  climbing  a  tree  above  which  are  icicles 
or  dropping  water.  The  other  represents  a  woman  stand- 
ing upon  a  sort  of  stump  and  clasping  a  branch  upon  which 
the  candlestand  rests. 

"  A  Toilet  or  Dressing-box  for  a  Lady.   .   .   .  The  or- 
naments should   be  gilt  in  burnished  gold,  or  the  whole 

446 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

work  may  be  Japanned  and  the  drapery  may  be  silk  dam- 
ask with  gold  fringes  and  tassels."  Another  toilet:  "The 
glass,  made  to  come  forward  with  folding  Hinges  is  in  a 
carved  frame,  and  stands  in  a  compartment  that  rests  upon 
a  plinth,  between  which  are  small  drawers.    The  Drapery 


ONE  OF  A  SET  OF  MAHOGANY    CHAIRS 
Belonging  to  Prof.  Henry  P.  Archer,  Charleston,  S.  C.     See  page  464. 


is  supported  by  Cupids,  and  the  Petticoat  goes  behind  the 
Feet  of  the  Table,  which  looks  better.  The  ornamental 
parts  may  be  gilt  in  burnished  gold  or  Japanned."  A 
China  case  in  the  Chinese  style,  "  may  be  of  soft  wood  and 
Japanned,  or  painted  and  partly  gilt."  A  china  case  "  very 
proper  for  a  lady's  dressing-room  may  be  made  of  any  soft 
wood  and  Japanned  any  colour."  Chandeliers:  "They 
are  generally  made  of  glass  and  sometimes  of  brass.      But 

447 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

if  neatly  done  in  wood,  and  gilt  in  burnished  gold,  would 
look  better,  and  come  much  cheaper."  Frame  for  marble 
slab  supported  by  Caryatides,  Dove  Entablature  with  Trig- 
lyphs  and  Metopes,  ram's  head  and  garland.  Another 
"supported  by  two  piping  Fauns,  leaning  against  two  vines, 
intermixed  with  foliage,  etc.  It  will  have  a  grand  ap- 
pearance if  executed  with  judgment  and  neatly  gilt."  One 
girandole  "  requires  great  care  in  the  execution.  The 
Imbossments  must  be  very  bold  and  the  Foliage  neatly  laid 
down,  and  the  whole  properly  relieved.  The  Top  may  be 
gilt,  as  likewise  some  of  the  other  ornamental  parts." 
Picture  frames,  elaborately  carved  with  emblems  appropri- 
ate to  the  subject  on  the  canvas,  were  also  gilded.  Where 
gilding  cannot  be  used,  Chippendale  obtains  its  effect  by 
the  free  use  of  brass,  the  importance  of  which  he  strongly 
accentuates. 

A  carver  and  gilder  with  a  considerable  leaven  of  up- 
holstery !  That  is  the  impression  gained  from  a  careful  pe- 
rusal of  Chippendale's  text.  A  maze  of  contours  and  forms, 
a  haze  of  blue  and  red  and  a  blaze  of  gold  !  Carving  and 
colour  are  the  striking  characteristics,  and  the  carving  con- 
tains exactly  the  same  faults  complained  of  by  Meissonier's 
satirist.  The  crow  with  the  cheese  at  the  top  of  a  mirror- 
frame  is  twice  as  big  as  the  insidious  fox  below;  in  another, 
the  bunch  of  grapes  that  the  fox  maligned  is  bigger  than 
himself.  It  also  hangs  so  close  and  so  menacingly  above 
him  that  he  seems  to  be  crawling  from  under  it  in  appre- 
hension, though  it  is  easily  within  his  reach.  It  would  be 
puzzling  to  account  for  the  similarity  between  the  decora- 
tive details  of  the  work  of  Chippendale  and  that  of  a  foreign 
master  if  neither  could  be  shown  to  have  borrowed  from 
the  other.      It   becomes  a   very  simple   matter,    however, 

448 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

when  we  place  the  designs  of  the  two  side  by  side,  and 
find  that  the  chair  that  Meissonier  designed  for  Mme.  de 
Brezenval  in  1735  (see  page  432)  is  boldly  transferred  by 
Chippendale  to  his  book  without  acknowledgment  and  is 
simply  called  a  French  chair.  The  form  and  carving  are 
identical ;  the  only  difference  is  that  Chippendale  adds  an 
extra  flourish  where  even  Meissonier  refrained.  An  ornate 
canape^  executed  in  1735  for  the  Grand  Marshal  of  Poland, 
is  also  manifestly  the  original  of  Chippendale's  design  of 
his  "sofa  for  a  grand  apartment."  In  this  case,  however, 
he  has  stuffed  the  arms  and  added  some  carving  on  the  top. 
Other  designs  of  Meissonier's  to  which  Chippendale  is  in- 
debted are  the  picture  frames  for  the  King's  portrait  and 
the  Royal  Hunt.  Of  these  Chippendale  has  made  free 
use.  One  of  the  trophies,  consisting  of  a  hunting-horn, 
stag's  head,  gun  and  net,  pleases  him  sufficiently  to  be 
adopted  in  its  entirety.  Meissonier's  designs,  especially  in 
his  Livre  de  Legumes  and  Livre  d'OmementSy  contain  chutes 
and  swags  of  bell-Hower  and  laurel,  shell-work,  fountains, 
colonnades,  balconies,  balustrading,  flights  of  steps,  acanthus 
and  other  flowers,  fruits,  human  figures,  birds,  animals, 
scroll-work,  dripping  and  falling  water,  feathers,  flags, 
musical  instruments,  weapons  and  implements.  Some  of 
the  falling  water  and  fragmentary  peristyle  effects  of  which 
Chippendale  is  so  fond  in  his  carved  frames  are  particularly 
noticeable.  Another  plate  that  must  have  struck  Chippen- 
dale's attention  shows  an  elaborate  surtout  made  for  the 
Duke  of  Kingston  in  1735.  The  ornamental  details  in- 
clude dripping  water,  fruits,  fish,  vegetables,  dead  game, 
shell,  cupids  and  all  the  spiky  scroll-work  characteristic  of 
Meissonier.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Chippendale's 
confessed  aim  is  to  serve  the  nobility  and  gentry.      If  the 

449 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

latter,  therefore,  show  any  marked  favour  to  the  work  of 
a  foreign  artist,  it  surely  would  be  worth  while  to  follow 
in  the  latter's  footsteps.  Why  should  the  Duke  of  Kings- 
ton and  others  be  forced  to  go  to  Paris,  when  we  have 
carvers  in  London  who  are  perfectly  able  to  do  that  kind 
of  work,  and  when  all  the  material  is  at  hand  for  the  most 
extravagant  carved  work  that  can  be  conceived?  \i  surtouts 
are  in  demand,  Chippendale  can  supply  a  design  for  one  in 
silver  for  the  top  of  a  commode. 

The  design  is  found  among  MeivSsonier's  plates,  but 
Chippendale  has  introduced  slight  modifications  in  the 
proportions.  Although  Chippendale  owed  so  much  to 
Meissonier,  he  also  went  to  others  for  inspiration. 
Marot's  tall  clock-cases  were  a  great  help  in  designing  his 
own.  The  fluttering  ribbon  adopted  in  the  backs  of  chairs 
occurs  as  a  decorative  accessory  in  a  book  of  designs  by 
Berain,  Le  Moyne  and  Chauveau,  and  is  used  by  several 
of  their  successors ;  and  Boucher,  Ranson  and  Lalond's  book 
is  a  treasure-house  of  details  for  ornate  beds  and  sofas. 
When,  therefore,  Chippendale  says:  **In  executing  many 
of  the  drawings,  my  pencil  has  but  faintly  copied  out 
these  images  that  my  fancy  suggested,"  he  assumes  more 
originality  than  he  is  justly  entitled  to. 

Carving  was  of  supreme  importance  at  this  period. 
One  of  the  early  English  books  on  furniture  was  published 
in  1739  by  William  Jones,  an  architect.  The  carver  is 
the  workman  that  he  had  chiefly  in  mind,  the  designs  be- 
ing for  chimney-pieces,  slab-tables,  pier-glasses,  tabernacle- 
frames,  ceilings, -etc.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Mathias 
Lock's  New  Book  of  Ornaments  (London,  1752),  and  to 
several  similar  books  that  appeared  before  1760  by 
Lairesse,  Halfpenny,  Swan,    Edwards  and   Darly,  Thomas 

450 


IB— 

if 

^^^Bi       ""T 

Mii^^i 

^H^^r\     IV^AhhhhA''  'MM 

BOOKCASE   AND    SECRETARY 

Otvned  by  Miss  Jessie  Colby ^  Neiv  Tork.      See  page  45g, 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Johnson,  William  Jones  and  A.  Rossis.  Lairesse,  Lock 
and  Johnson  were  carvers  only.  We  have  already  seen 
that  able  carvers  of  this  school  came  to  the  colonies.  A 
notice  of  an  elaborate  piece  of  wood-carving  by  one  ol 
these  appears  in  the  Maryland  Gazette  for  January  7,  1762. 
It  is  worth  quoting  here: 


SCREEN,  TABLE  THAT  BELONGED  TO  REBECCA  MOTTE,  AND  CHAJR 
Owned  by  Miw  Susan  Pringle,  Charleston,  S.  C      See  page  471. 


"Last  month  died  here,  Mr.  Henry  Crouch,  Carver, 
who  was  deemed  by  good  judges  to  be  as  ingenious  an  artist 
at  his  business  as  any  in  the  king's  dominions.  Some  months 
before  he  died,  he  employed  himself  in  cutting  or  raising  out 
of  the  solid  wood,  a  number  of  figures  to  put  over  a  mantle 
piece.  In  the  centre,  sits  Britannia  on  a  pedestal  (to  which 
hangs  a  medal  with  the  bust  of  Mr.  Pitt)  amid  the  trophies 
of  war,  with  a  sceptre  in  one  of  her  hands,  and  an  olive  branch 

4S« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

in  the  other  ;  on  her  right,  in  a  prostrate  posture,  is  a  female 
figure  representing  France,  offering  a  scroll  at  the  feet  of 
Britannia ;  a  little  further  off  lies  a  figure  representing 
Envy,  struck  dead  by  Jupiter,  who  sits  above  with  a  pair 
of  scales  in  his  hand  ;  on  the  same  side  is  Ceres  with  the 
Cornucopia  pouring  out  her  plenty  to  Britannia ;  Fame  with 
her  trumpet ;  and  several  other  curious  figures.  On  the  left 
of  Britannia,  is  Victory  introducing  Peace ;  Minerva ;  For- 
titude ;  Neptune  ;  Mercury ;  and  sundry  other  figures  ;  old 
Time  above,  with  a  scythe  in  one  hand  and  a  pair  of  callipers 
in  the  other,  measuring  the  globe.  It  has  a  neat  carved 
border,  and  canopy  at  top,  with  curtains  folded.  The 
whole  executed  in  so  masterly  a  taste,  and  with  such  sym- 
metry of  parts,  that  it  would  be  an  ornament  even  in  a 
palace.  And  although  Mr.  Crouch  had  very  little  notice 
taken  of  him,  and  lived  somewhat  obscurely,  yet  it  must  be 
allowed,  that  He  Cut  A  Good  Figure  In  Life." 

The  question  now  arises :  "  What  is  Chippendale  fur- 
niture ? "  Judging  from  his  own  text,  he  scarcely  made 
any  use  of  mahogany.  That  wood  is  mentioned  only  once : 
**  Six  designs  of  chairs  for  halls,  passages  or  summer-houses. 
They  may  be  made  either  of  mahogany,  or  any  other  wood, 
and  painted,  and  have  commonly  wooden  seats."  Marquetry, 
or  any  enrichment  by  inlaying  or  painting,  is  never  used  : 
Chippendale  takes  no  more  notice  of  it  than  if  it  had  never 
existed.  For  his  effects,  he  depends  entirely  on  the  beauty 
of  tapestry  and  other  coverings  and  drapery,  bright  metal 
mounts,  and,  above  all,  carving  and  gilding.  The  amount 
of  skilled  labour  required  in  the  execution  of  the  designs  in 
his  book  naturally  rendered  that  class  of  furniture  very  ex- 
pensive, and  therefore  within  the  means  of  the  rich  only. 
Consequently,  relatively  little  of  such  ornate  work  was  ever 

45* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

produced ;  it  was  all  made  to  order,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  a 
single  piece  after  these  designs  that  issued  from  Chippen- 
dale's workshop  ever  crossed  the  Atlantic.  It  would  be  an 
error,  however,  to  assume  that  he  confined  his  labours  to 
furniture  of  such  florid  ornamentation.  The  mere  fjict  that 
he  had  supplied  several  members  of  the  aristocracy  with 
chairs  and  beds  of  his  own  design  shows  that  he  was  a  cabi- 
net-maker of  some  standing  and  had  worked  up  a  prosper- 
ous business.  The  furniture  that  he  had  been  making  for 
many  years,  in  common  with  many  others  of  his  craft,  was 
so  well  known  that  there  would  have  been  no  novelty  in 
including  those  designs  in  his  book :  he  could  not  claim 
any  credit  from  existing  styles.  His  originality  lies  in  the 
elaboration  of  those  models  ;  and  yet  posterity  calls  nearly 
all  the  developments  of  Queen  Anne  styles  by  his  name. 
He  probably  continued  making  the  old  furniture  for  cus- 
tomers of  moderate  means  until  the  end  of  his  life.  In 
South  Kensington  Museum,  there  are  heavy  chairs  with  the 
strongly  accented  cabriole  curves  in  the  legs,  and  plain 
club,  hoof,  or  ball-and-claw  feet,  sometimes  entirely  desti- 
tute of  carving,  that  are  attributed  to  all  dates  up  to  1780. 
Not  a  single  table  or  chair  in  his  book  shows  the  legs  or 
feet  that  occur  so  often  among  our  illustrations  and  are  con- 
sidered as  so  distinctly  "  Chippendale."  Feet  like  those  on 
pages  276  and  277  never  occur  in  his  book  ;  and  the  ball- 
and-claw  is  only  found  once,  and  that  is  on  a  tea-caddy 
which  is  of  such  little  importance  as  to  be  ignored  in  his 
notes  and  descriptions  of  the  plates.  The  lion's  paw  on  a 
flattened  bulb  or  pad  appears  on  a  desk  and  book-case,  a 
bed,  and  a  "  French  "  chair.  It  is  noticeable,  however, 
that  all  these  plates  are  dated  1753  and  are  therefore  among 
his  earliest.      The  only  hoof-feet  figured  are  those  of  a  goat 

4S3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

that  terminate  the  legs  of  a  toilet-table,  and  in  this  case 
there  is  a  reason  for  their  presence,  since  satyrs  are  carved 
on  the  cabriole  curves  above.     When,  therefore,  writers  tell 


FIELD  BED 
Owned  by  Stephen  Girard,  now  in  Girard  College,  Philadelphia.      Sec  page  472. 

US  that  Chippendale  was  especially  fond  of  the  ball-and-claw 
foot,  it  is  plain  that  they  have  in  mind  the  general  furniture 
of  the  day  that  he  and  his  contemporaries  made  for  the  mul- 
titude, and  not  the  especial  furniture  of  French  ornamen- 
tation that  he  wanted  to  make  for  the  fashionable  world. 

4S4 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

On  looking  through  the  first  edition  of  Chippendale's 
book,  we  cannot  fail  to  notice  the  preponderance  of  Chi- 
nese and  Gothic  designs.  There  are  no  less  than  twenty- 
eight  of  the  former  and  twenty  of  the  latter  so  designated, 
and,  in  addition  to  these,  we  find  two  Gothic  library  book- 
cases and  three  Gothic  sideboard  tables.  Four  hanging- 
shelves  and  several  "  China  shelves,"candle  stands  and  fire- 
screens are  distinctly  Chinese,  as  is  also  a  "  library  case  and 
book-case,"  while  a  number  of  "  gerandoles,"  pier-glass 
frames  and  "frames  for  marble  slabs"  (console-tables)  are 
adorned  with  whimsical  Chinese  ornaments  and  figures. 
Gothic  and  Chinese  cornices  also  appear.  The  fret,  Gothic 
or  Chinese,  and  sometimes  a  mixture  of  both  styles,  occurs 
as  a  border  upon  tea-trays,  tables,  bookcases,  chests-of-draw- 
ers,  dressing-cases,  cabinets,  clothes-chests,  hanging-selves, 
clock-cases,  fire-screens,  etc.,  etc. 

The  student  must  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  Chippen- 
dale does  not  attempt  to  give  illustrations  of  the  ordinary 
styles  of  furniture  that  he  and  others  were  making.  If  we 
were  to  try  to  form  any  idea  of  contemporary  furniture  by 
his  book  alone,  we  should  say  that  he  knew  nothing  of 
Windsor  chairs,  or  round-about  chairs,  or  arm-chairs,  or 
wing-chairs,  or  rocking-chairs,  or  foot-stools,  or  washstands, 
or  knife-boxes,  or  dining-tables,  or  corner  cupboards,  or 
work-tables,  or  dumb-waiters,  or  cradles,  or  press-bedsteads, 
or  spinets.  We  should  say  that  turned  work  was  unknown ; 
that  the  chairs  never  had  horizontal  bars  in  the  backs, 
either  plain  or  pierced  ;  that  they  never  had  shaped  un- 
pierced  splats  ;  that  stretchers  were  of  very  rare  occurrence ; 
and  that  the  furniture  was  never  inlaid,  but  carved  with 
Gothic,  Chinese  and  Louis  (^linze  ornaments  exclusively. 
We  cannot  help  regretting  that   he  did  not  give  us  exam- 

455 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

pies  of  what  was  already  in  fashion,  instead  of  what  he 
would  like  to  introduce.  In  France,  the  works  of  Boucher 
Jils  and  NeufForge  give  an  exact  idea  of  the  interiors  of  their 
day ;  they  represent  the  singular  forms  of  the  Louis  Quinze 
period,  and  are  not  the  rich  and  excessively  ornate  style 
found  in  Salembier,  Cauvet  and  others.  It  is  only  Chip- 
pendale's chairs,  however,  that  retain  much  semblance  to 
their  parent  stock,  and  it  is  precisely  because  he  restrained 
his  exuberance  to  some  extent  and  retained  the  general 
outlines  that  had  gradually  developed,  that  they  have  en- 
dured, while  his  Gothic  and  Chinese  novelties  and  extrav- 
agances were  soon  forgotten.  His  patterns  are  all  devel- 
opments of  the  crown-back  and  the  "embowed  "  or  bow- 
topped  chair  (see  pages  276  and  337).  He  paid  great 
attention  to  the  proportion  between  the  splat  and  the  open 
spaces  on  either  side  (the  outlines  of  the  splat  keeping 
somewhat  closely  to  the  old  jar  form),  and  then  pierced 
the  splat  in  various  patterns  of  tracery  which  he  still 
further  enriched  with  ornamental  carving.  In  his  designs, 
the  old  cabriole  curves  and  heaviness  of  the  legs  are  greatly 
reduced,  and  the  general  effect  is  one  of  much  greater 
lightness  than  most  of  our  illustrations.  Most  of  the  latter 
belong  to  the  school  from  which  his  own  were  developed, 
and  to  his  own  early  period.  The  designs  in  the  back  of  the 
"Chippendale"  chair  are  innumerable,  though  they  all 
have  a  family  likeness.  Of  those  that  appear  here,  the 
chair  belonging  to  Miss  Sherburne  (see  page  41  3)  is,  per- 
haps, the  nearest  in  design  to  any  in  Chippendale's  book. 

Between  the  first  and  the  third  edition  of  Chippen- 
dale's book,  works  were  published  on  the  same  subject  by 
T.  Johnson,  Edwards  and  Darly,  Ince  and  Mayhew  and 
The   Society  of  Upholsterers.     They  all   give   designs  of 

456 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

what  to-day  we  should  call  Chippendale  furniture,  but  in 
his  last  edition  the  latter  makes  no  complaint  that  others 
were  copying  him.  Ince  and  Mayhew  devote  a  number 
of  plates  to  Gothic  and  Chinese  designs  for  the  prevailing 


CHAIRS  FROM  THE  DINING-ROOM  OF  THE  VAN  RENSSELAER  MANOR 

HOUSE 
Owned  by  Mr.  WiUiam  Bayard  Van  Ren«»elaer,  Albany,  N.  V.     See  page  469. 


taste,  and  Louis  (^inze  ornamentation  is  adopted  by  them 
all. 

We  cannot  hope  to  find  any  of  the  furniture  answering 
to  Chippendale's  published  designs  in  this  country,  with  the 
exception  of  his  chairs  and  simpler  forms  of  tables,  book- 
cases, etc.  An  examination  of  the  furniture  in  South  Ken- 
sington that  is  confidently  attributed  to  Chippendale  shows 

♦  S7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

that  it  is  entirely  different  in  character  to  what  appears 
in  his  book.  Some  of  the  varieties  of  mirrors  made  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century  face  page  450.  Even  the  most 
ornate  of  these  has  much  less  intricate  carving  than  Chip- 
pendale frequently  designs. 

A  plate  with  three  pieces  of  such  ordinary  furniture 
as  came  from  Chippendale's  workshop  faces  page  438. 
On  the  left  is  a  mahogany  square  table  with  pierced  gal- 
lery; it  is  supported  by  one  baluster  leg  with  tripod 
cabriole  feet  ending  in  claws  and  carved  with  the  acanthus 
leaf  ornament.  It  was  made  about  1 740.  In  the  middle 
is  a  mahogany  writing-cabinet  with  folding  flap  and 
drawers,  the  interior  being  fitted  with  pigeon-holes  and  re- 
ceptacles for  writing  materials.  It  is  supported  by  four 
cabriole  legs  with  claw-and-ball  feet  carved  with  the 
acanthus  leaf  and  mounted  with  brass  lock-plates, 
handles  and  escutcheons.  It  was  made  about  1750.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  here,  as  in  most  cases,  Chippendale 
has  introduced  no  new  form.  The  Museum  possesses  a 
similar  writing-case  of  the  Anglo-Dutch  school  of  about 
1 700.  It  is  almost  identical  with  that  belonging  to  Wil- 
liam Penn  facing  page  82.  The  third  piece  is  a  mahog- 
any table.  It  is  eight-foil  in  shape,  with  a  raised  and 
moulded  edge,  and  is  carved  in  the  centre  with  a  leaf,  floral 
and  diaper  ornament.  Like  the  other  table,  it  is  sup- 
ported by  one  baluster  leg  with  tripod  cabriole  feet  ending 
in  ball-and-claws,  and  ornamented  with  carved  acanthus. 
It  was  made  before  1750.  A  somewhat  similar  table  is  in 
possession  of  Mr.  H.  E.  Bowles  of  Boston. 

A  handsome  bookcase  and  secretary  of  this  period,  be- 
longing to  Miss  Sherburne,  Warner  House,  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  faces  page  432.      When  let  down,  the  leaf  forms  a 

45» 


C/3 


•X3 
<3 


§2 

^  i 

•^     v. 

c/5    e 


iig 


t 


■•*t'ji*r.. 


CO 

t.  -s: 

o  ^ 


►J  ^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

writing  slab  that  is  lower  than  usual.  The  little  pillars  in 
the  front  conceal  the  usual  secret  receptacles.  This  is  a 
beautifully  proportioned  piece  of  furniture  with  handsome 
brasses  and  a  band  of  carving  below  the  cornice.  Another 
mahogany  bookcase  and  secretary,  belonging  to  Miss  Jes- 
sie Colby,  New  York,  faces  page  454.  The  doors  of  the 
bookcase  have  characteristic  Gothic  window  tracery  and 
the  pigeon  holes  have  Gothic  outlines,  while  the  pediment 
is  Classic  and  the  feet  are  carved.  When  closed,  the  bureau 
looks  like  a  chest  with  four  drawers.  The  little  knobs  of 
the  interior  drawers  are  of  ivory  and  the  light  facing  is  of 
satin-wood.  The  Heppelwhite  chair  standing  beside  it 
gives  an  idea  of  the  unusual  height  of  this  piece. 

Three  characteristic  Chippendale  pieces  from  the  Me- 
morial Hall,  Philadelphia,  face  page  448.  In  the  centre 
is  a  mahogany  lamp-stand  with  a  hexagonal  top  surrounded 
by  a  carved  and  pierced  gallery.  The  height  of  the  sup- 
porting column  is  3  feet  jYj  inches,  the  spread  of  the  tripod 
ball-and-claw  feet  20  inches,  and  the  diameter  of  the  top 
I-;  I J  inches.  The  small  mahogany  tea-kettle  stand  to  the 
left  is  of  the  same  period.  The  octagonal  top  with  a  raised 
edge  is  16  inches  in  diameter.  It  is  only  24  inches  high. 
On  the  same  plate  is  a  handsome  Chippendale  mahogany 
settee,  belonging  to  Mrs.  John  Marshall  Holcombe  of 
Hartford.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  double  armchair  with 
moulded  and  carved  backs  terminating  in  scrolls  and  open- 
work back  panels  carved.  South  Kensington  pos.sesses  several 
pieces  of  this  character  attributed  to  dates  between  i  750 
and  1770. 

A  settee  of  very  similar  character  faces  page  434.  It 
originally  belonged  to  John  Hancock  and  is  now  in  the 
rot)ms    of  the   American  Antiquarian   Society,  Worcester, 

459 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Mass.  The  carved  heads  that  terminate  the  arms  are  almost 
identical  with  those  on  the  chair  on  page  65.  They  may 
also  be  compared  with  the  carved  Chinese  chair  facing 
page  424.  The  frame  is  of  walnut.  The  mahogany  articles 
on  the  plate  facing  page  440  also  belong  to  Mrs.  John 
Marshall  Holcombe  of  Hartford.  To  the  left  is  a  table 
with  shaped  top  and  turned  baluster  supported  by  three 
"snake  feet;"  the  centre  table  is  carved  with  a  coat-of- 
arms,  the  initials  M.  E.  and  the  date  1748.  To  the  right 
is  a  tea-kettle  stand  with  pierced  gallery  and  carved  cabriole 
ball-and-claw  feet.  These  tables  are  all  small,  and  good 
specimens  of  Chippendale's  ordinary  work. 

Most  of  the  chairs  reproduced  in  this  part  are  of  the 
most  familiar  Chippendale  patterns.  The  openwork  in 
the  backs  closely  resembles  the  designs  published  by  Chip- 
pendale, though  none  are  identical  with  those.  The  ma- 
hogany chair  on  page  420,  owned  by  Mrs.  John  Bleecker 
Miller,  New  York,  is  interesting  because  of  the  pierced  frets 
in  the  stretchers,  which  Chippendale  would  sometimes  call 
Chinese  and  sometimes  Gothic.  The  same  pattern  repeated 
in  the  legs  is  also  characteristic  of  Chippendale  chairs. 
The  chair,  however,  is  said  to  have  formed  part  of  the  dowry 
of  Cornelia  Harring  of  Holland,  who  was  married  in  1765 
to  the  Hon.  Samuel  Jones,  Recorder  of  New  York. 

The  corner,  or  round-about,  chair  has  already  been  illus- 
trated. The  semi-circular  back  consisting  of  a  top  rail,  sup- 
ported by  three  turned  columns  and  ornamentally  pierced 
panels,  and  square  seat  with  movable  stuffed  cushion  is  often 
found  ;  but  it  is  quite  unusual  to  find  the  back  raised  an- 
other stage  to  form  a  more  comfortable  big  armchair,  as 
in  the  exceedingly  fine  example  owned  by  Mr.  Walter 
Hosmer  in  Wethersfield,  Conn.      (See  page  439.) 

460 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

On  page  435  are  four  chairs  from  the  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum.  The  one  on  the  extreme  right  is  a  Shera- 
ton model ;  the  two  in  the  centre  are  characteristic  Chip- 
pendales.    The  chair  next  to  the  Sheraton  is  of  mahogany, 


MAHOGANY  CHAIR 
Owned  by  Dr.  George  Rou,   Richmond,  Va.      Sec  page  471. 

the  back  having  a  central  support  carved  with  floral  and 
leaf  ornament  and  pierced  ;  the  front  legs  and  outside  bars 
of  the  back  are  fluted,  the  front  legs  being  of  square  sec- 
tion and  the  back  legs  are  curved  and  joined  to  the  front  by 
cross  bars.  The  seat  is  covered  with  red  leather  held  by 
brass  studs.  This  is  said  to  be  in  Chippendale's  style  late 
in  the  century.  To  the  left  is  one  of  the  earlier  design. 
The  arms  are  lower  and  the    model    is  less  elegant;    but 

461 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

neither  of  these  shows  Chippendale  at  his  best,  for  the  pro- 
portion of  open  spaces  on  either  side  of  the  splat  shows 
lack  of  the  taste  usually  displayed.  A  model  which  does 
not  appear  in  Chippendale's  book,  but  which  is  always  at- 
tributed to  him,  is  illustrated  on  page  433.  It  is  of  ma- 
hogany with  an  open  back  consisting  of  moulded  sides, 
pierced  wavy  top  rail,  and  three  horizontal  back  bars  of 
similar  shape  and  piercing.  It  has  square,  tapering  front 
legs,  curved  back  legs  and  plain  stretchers.  The  date  is 
about  1750.  The  four-back  chair,  of  which  this  is  a  de- 
velopment, at  a  very  early  date  had  inlaid  patterns  similar 
to  the  piercing  in  this  example.  This  belonged  to  the 
Visscher  family  of  Albany.  The  table  is  a  Heppelwhite, 
the  legs  being  inlaid  with  the  favourite  chute  of  the  bell- 
flower  in  satin-wood.  This  was  owned  by  the  Ten  Eyck 
family.      Both  pieces  belong  to  Miss  Ten  Eyck  in  Albany. 

On  page  429  are  three  chairs.  The  centre  one  is  a 
good  model  of  Chippendale's  best  style,  showing  well-pro- 
portioned light  and  dark  spaces.  The  chairs  on  either  side, 
which  belonged  to  the  Fletcher  family,  are  also  frequently 
called  Chippendale  models,  but  they  more  properly  belong 
to  the  Sheraton  school,  for  it  is  well  known  that  Chippen- 
dale abhorred  the  straight  line  and  generally  waved  the  tops 
of  his  chairs. 

A  handsomely  carved  chair,  said  to  have  come  from 
Hampton  Court  Palace  and  now  in  possession  of  Mr. 
Charles  R.  Waters  of  Salem,  Mass.,  appears  on  page  423. 
The  centre  panel  is  carved  and  pierced  with  a  complex 
knot,  rosette  and  frill.  The  top  rail  is  bow-shaped  with  a 
carved  centre  and  leaf-scroll  ends.  There  is  a  chair  with  a 
splat  identical  with  this  in  South  Kensington.  The  date 
given  is  about  1740. 

461 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Two  mahogany  chairs  on  page  417  belong  to  Mrs. 
Wainwright  in  Hartford,  Conn.  The  one  on  the  left  is 
early,  the  shell  being  carved  in  the  centre  of  the  front  rail, 
as  in  so  many  of  the  early  cases  of  drawers.  The  tracery 
in  the  splat  is  similar  to  a  model  in  South  Kensington 
dated  1732.  The  difference  in  the  curves  of  the  arms  of 
these  two  chairs  is  worth  notice.     The  second  one  is  simi- 


ADAM    CHAIRS 
Owned  by  the  Duke  of  Devoiuhire.      Sec  page  469. 


lar  to  models  dated  about  1750.  The  tracery  of  the  chair 
on  the  left,  consisting  of  intersecting  bands,  should  also  be 
compared  with  two  mahogany  chairs  owned  by  Stephen 
Cfirard,  reproduced  on  page  414. 

Other  chairs,  with  the  pattern  consisting  of  bands  inter- 
lacing a  hollow  diamond,  are  on  page  427.  These  origin- 
ally belonged  to  Philip  Van  Rensselaer,  and  are  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  Edward  Rankin  at  Cherry  Hill^  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Another  chair  almost  identical  with  these  is  on  page  409. 
It  is  from  the  Glen-Sanders  House,  Scotia,  New  York. 

463 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Other  variants  of  these  patterns  appear  on  pages  444 
and  447,  showing  chairs  of  the  period.  The  first  belongs 
to  Mr,  Stephen  Schuyler,  Troy  Road,  N.  Y.  ;  the  second 
to  Prof.  Henry  P.  Archer,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  This  is 
similar  to  the  chairs  already  represented  on  page  148. 

Two  other  Chippendale  chairs  appear  with  a  sideboard 
facing  page  480.  The  backs  are  almost  square  and  the 
splat  is  pierced  vertically.  The  South  Kensington  authori- 
ties date  this  model  about  1 740. 

The  sideboard,  facing  page  480,  belongs  to  George 
Dagworthy  Mayo,  Esq.,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  has  been 
in  the  Mayo  family  for  six  generations.  It  is  of  mahogany 
inlaid  with  various  coloured  woods. 

In  1773,  appeared  The  Works  in  Architecture  of  Robert 
and  James  Adam,  in  the  preface  of  which  we  read  :  "  The 
novelty  and  variety  of  the  following  designs  will  not  only 
excuse  but  justify  our  conduct  in  communicating  them  to 
the  world.  We  have  not  trod  in  the  path  of  others,  nor 
derived  aid  from  their  labours.  In  the  works  which  we 
have  had  the  honour  to  execute,  we  Have  not  only  met 
with  the  approbation  of  our  employers,  but  even  with  the 
imitation  of  other  artists,  to  such  a  degree,  as  in  some 
measure  to  have  brought  about,  in  this  country,  a  kind  of 
revolution  in  the  whole  system  of  this  useful  and  elegant  art. 

"  To  enter  upon  an  enquiry  into  the  state  of  this  art  in 
Great  Britain,  till  the  late  changes  it  has  undergone,  is  no 
part  of  our  present  design.  .  .  .  If  we  have  any  claim  to 
approbation,  we  found  it  on  this  alone:  That  we  have 
been  able  to  seize,  with  some  degree  of  success,  the  beauti- 
ful spirit  of  antiquity,  and  to  transfuse  it  with  novelty  and 
variety,  through  all  our  numerous  works." 

The  Adam  brothers  were  great  admirers  of  the  French 

464 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

architecture,  and  in  their  book  they  pay  a  special  tribute 
to  it. 

While  not  corresponding  precisely  with  the  Louis  XVI. 
style,  the  Adam  style  is  similar  in   many   respects.     The 


HEPPELWHITE     CHAIR 
In  the  houw  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waten,  Salem,  Man.       See  page  471. 


Straight  line,  the  arabesque  scrollwork,  the  resplendent  use 
of  ormoulu^  the  gaiety  and  lightness,  and  the  formality  are 
common  to  both. 

It  has  been  aptly  said  that  the  essence  of  the  Adam 
style  is  "  simplicity,  elegant  slenderness,  and  low  relief." 
The  urn  is  a  singularly  important  ornament  and  the  urn 
shape  is  seen  everywhere.  Other  favourite  details  of  orna- 
mentation are   the  bell-Hower   or  husk  appearing  on   the 

465 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

legs  of  furniture  and  frequently  looped  in  festoons  around 
girondelles,  tripods,  or  in  panels  and  ceilings ;  delicate 
scrolls  ;  swags  of  drapery  ;  the  fluted  shell ;  ovals  and  circu- 
lar medallions  containing  paintings ;  patera,  or  rosettes ; 
the  ram's  head  ;  trophies  ;  fans  ;  Greek  and  Roman  vases  ; 
wreaths ;  the  honeysuckle  ;  musical  instruments  ;  loops  and 
bows  of  ribbon  ;  the  acanthus  ;  the  sunflower  ;  Greek  bor- 
ders ;  goats  ;  centaurs  ;  fawns ;  caryatides  ;  sea-horses  ;  grif- 
fins ;  sphinxes ;  dolphins  ;  and  figures  half-human,  half-foli- 
age. Sometimes  Adam  employed  heraldic  devices  in  his 
ornamentation,  to  please  the  family  who  had  ordered  the 
work  ;  for  example,  the  deer's  head  is  used  for  Lord  Mans- 
field.     He  is  also  fond  of  lions'  and  eagles'  claws  for  feet. 

The  Adam  furniture  was  very  rich  and  costly.  It  was 
cold,  formal,  and  ornate,  although  colour  played  no  little 
part  in  the  scheme.  Lord  Derby's  "  great  withdrawing- 
room  "  is  described  by  the  designers  as  follows :  "  The 
ornaments  of  the  ceiling  and  entablature  are  chiefly  of  stucco 
gilt,  with  a  mixture  of  paintings.  The  grounds  are  covered 
with  various  tints.  The  frames  for  glasses,  the  pedestals 
and  vases  in  the  niches,  and  the  girondelles  on  the  piers,  are 
of  wood  gih.  This  room  is  hung  with  satin,  and  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  most  elegant  in  Europe,  whether  we 
consider  the  variety  or  the  richness  of  its  decorations."  The 
chimney-piece  in  this  room  was  of  "  statuary  marble,  inlaid 
with  various  coloured  scagliola  and  brass  ornaments,  gilt  in 
ortnoulu.    The  glass  frame  over  it  is  carved  in  wood  and  gilt." 

The  ornaments  of  the  ceiling  in  the  Countess  of  Derby's 
dressing-room  were  partly  in  stucco  and  "  partly  painting, 
the  colouring  of  the  Etruscans."  An  ornate  commode  was 
also  designed  for  this  room  in  harmony  with  the  walJ 
decorations. 

♦64 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

It  is  certain  that  the  Adam  brothers  made  no  furniture, 
although  they  designed  sofas,  chairs,  tables,  sideboard  tables, 
etc.,  etc.  They  even  went  so  far,  in  their  wish  to  make 
the  room  in  perfect  harmony,  as  to  design  the  locks  and 
handles  for  the  doors.     The  vase  and  urn  not  only  appear 


HEPPELWHITE  CHAIRS  BELONGING  TO  THE  TEN   BROECK  AND 

GLEN-SANDERS  FAMILIES 
Now  owned  by  Dr.  Heiman  T.  Myndene,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.     Seepage  471. 

as  motives  of  decoration,  but  the  Adams  were  fond  of  hol- 
lowing out  niches  to  contain  pedestals  bearing  vases,  which 
they  also  designed. 

They  also  give  "  a  design  of  a  glass  frame  and  com- 
mode table  ;  upon  which  is  placed  a  clock  and  vases,  with 
branches  for  candles.  These  were  executed  for  us  in  wood 
gilt,  except  the  vases,  which  were  of  silver."  Here  the 
vases  arc  urns  standing  upon  griffins  that  sit  back  to  back. 

4*7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  mirror  is  in  two  pieces,  and  ornamented  across  the 
join  with  griffins,  swinging  lamps  and  swags  of  the  bell- 
flower  or  husk.  On  the  same  plate  are  shown  four  other 
designs  for  candlesticks.  One  is  a  tripod  six  feet  high, 
made  in  ormoulu^  and  decorated  with  ram's  heads  and  swags 
of  the  bell-flower,  supporting  a  vase  that  holds  three  candle- 
sticks. Another,  of  the  same  height,  carries  two  candles, 
and  is  decorated  with  the  heads  of  women.  The  vase  hold- 
ing the  candles  is  surmounted  by  a  sphinx.  The  other  two 
are  brackets  and  vases  holding  candles.  The  branches  of 
one  are  of  the  acanthus  and  are  decorated  by  strings  of  the 
bell-flower  caught  in  the  mouth  of  a  child's  head  in  the 
centre  of  the  vase  ;  the  second  vase  is  ornamented  with 
ram's  heads  and  graceful  festoons  of  grapes  and  grape- 
leaves.  One  of  the  plates  shows  a  sideboard  table  which 
is  called  a  bufl^et.  It  has  neither  back  nor  drawers.  A 
wine-cooler,  or  cistern,  stands  below  it,  and  upon  it  stand 
two  knife-boxes.  The  silver  upon  it  is  arranged  in  the  most 
formal  manner.  There  are  six  wine-cups,  two  ewers,  and 
four  vases.  The  knife-boxes  are  open,  and  handsome  plates 
stand  upright  upon  the  tops  of  them.  Three  lamps  shown 
also  in  his  book  prove  that  Adam  did  not,  however  much  he 
might  condemn  the  taste  of  the  past,  withstand  the  Chinese 
influence.  In  these  he  has  used  the  umbrella  many  times 
and  very  charmingly,  and  from  the  mouths  of  dolphins  there 
hangs  a  string  of  little  bells. 

The  Adam  style  spread  to  America,  although  not  in  its 
most  gorgeous  manifestation,  but  it  was  only  natural  that 
the  wealthy  Englishmen  settled  here  temporarily  or  perma- 
nently should  have  the  desire  to  keep  up  with  the  fashions 
at  home.  There  were  many  of  the  homes  in  the  Southern 
colonies  that  were  decorated  with  stucco  work,  and  we  have 

468 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  special  instance  in  two  houses  of  Sir  Charles  Frankland. 
One  on  Garden  Court  Street  and  Bell  Alley,  Boston,  was 
built  in   1765. 

Two  mahogany  chairs  in  the  Adam  style,  but  without 
the  enrichment,  have  already  appeared  facing  page  i  1 2. 
This  model  dates  from  about  1 770.  A  similar  one,  from 
a  private  collection,  with  applied  ornaments  in  ormoulu, 
appears  with  two  other  Adam  chairs  on  page  463.  The  date 
of  the  two  latter  is  about  i  800.  Two  more  chairs  of  later 
development  of  this  form  are  given  on  page  457.  They  are 
from  the  Van  Rensselaer  Manor  House  and  are  owned  by 
Mr.  William  Bayard  Van  Rensselaer,  Albany,  N.  Y.  The 
mahogany  sofa  facing  page  472  has  some  of  the  Adam 
characteristics,  especially  the  ram's  head,  the  general  shape 
of  the  legs  (though  the  Adam  leg  is  usually  reeded)  and  the 
general  outline  of  the  frame.  This  piece  is  said  to  have 
belonged  to  Robert  Morris  and  is  now  owned  by  the 
Misses  Comegys,  Philadelphia. 

T^lie  Cabinet-Maker  and  Upholsterer  s  Guide ^  by  A.  Hep- 
pelwhite  6c  Co.  (1788),  is  the  next  work  that  claims  at- 
tention.    The  authors  say  in  their  preface : 

**  We  have  exerted  our  utmost  endeavours  to  produce  a 
work  which  shall  be  useful  to  the  mechanic  and  serviceable 
to  the  gentleman.  With  this  view,  after  having  fixed  upon 
such  articles  as  were  necessary  to  a  complete  suit  of  furni- 
ture, our  judgment  was  called  forth  in  selecting  such  pat- 
terns as  were  most  likely  to  be  of  general  use  and  convey 
a  just  idea  of  English  taste  in  furniture. 

"  English  taste  and  workmanship  have,of  late  years,  been 
much  sought  for  by  surrounding  nations ;  and  the  muta- 
bility of  all  things,  but  more  especially  of  fashions,  has 
rendered  the  labour  of  our  predecessors  in  this  line  of  little 

♦69 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

use  ;  nay,  at  this  day,  they  can  only  tend  to  mislead  those 
foreigners,  who  seek  a  knowledge  of  English  taste  in  the 
various  articles  of  household  furniture. 

**  The  same  reason  in  favour  of  this  work,  will  apply 
also  to  many  of  our  own  Countrymen  and  Artizans,  whose 
distance  from  the  metropolis  makes  even  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  its  improvements  acquired  with  much  trouble 
and  expense.  Our  labours  will,  we  hope,  tend  to  remove 
this  difficulty  ;  and  as  our  ideas  of  the  useful  was  such 
articles  as  are  generally  serviceable  in  genteel  life,  we  flat- 
ter ourselves  the  labour  and  pains  we  have  bestowed  on  this 
work  will  not  be  considered  as  time  uselessly  spent. 

"  To  Residents  in  London,  though  our  drawings  are 
all  new,  yet,  as  we  designedly  followed  the  latest  or  most 
prevailing  fashions  only,  purposely  omitting  such  articles, 
whose  recommendation  was  mere  novelty,  and  perhaps  a 
violation  of  all  established  rule,  and  steadily  adhered  to 
such  articles  only  ^s  are  of  general  use  and  service,  one 
principle  hope  for  favour  and  encouragement  will  be,  in 
having  combined  near  three  hundred  different  patterns  for 
furniture  in  a  small  space,  and  at  a  small  price.  In  this 
instance  we  hope  for  reward  ;  and  though  we  lay  no  claim 
to  extraordinary  merit  in  our  designs,  we  flatter  ourselves 
they  will  be  found  serviceable  to  young  workmen  in  gen- 
eral, and  occasionally  to  more  experienced  ones." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Heppelwhite  claims  very  little 
originality  for  himself,  or  rather  for.  his  firm  ;  that  the 
designs  selected  conform  to,  or  accord  with,  the  taste  of 
the  hour  ;  that  the  productions  of  his  predecessors  have 
passed  entirely  out  of  fashion  ;  and  that  there  has  been  a 
demand  for  Englivsh  furniture  in  other  countries  for  several 
years. 

470 


5 
§•5 


8 


^  i 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  our  attention,  on  examining 
his  plates,  is  that  the  straight  line  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  curve,  especially  in  the  leg  of  the  chair  and  table,  and 
that  there  is  a  general  feeling  of  slenderness  in  many  of  the 
patterns.  The  only  time  the  claw-foot  appears  is  on  the 
foot  of  a  bed  pillar,  and  it  is  very  roughly  carved.  The 
ball  never  occurs.  The  chair,  the  sofa  and  the  sideboard 
seem  to  have  been  Heppelwhite's  especial  delight.  He 
has  a  special  fondness  for  shaping  the  back  of  his  chairs 
like  a  shield  and  placing  a  pierced  splat  in  the  centre,  or 
several  horizontal  and  curved  bars.  These  he  calls  **  ban- 
ister-back chairs,"  typical  specimens  of  which  appear  on 
page  467.  These  belong  to  Dr.  Herman  V.  Mynderse, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Other  chairs  appear  on  pages  461 
and  465.  The  first  belongs  to  Dr.  George  Ross,  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  and  the  second  to  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters, 
Salem,  Mass.  The  former  chair  came  from  Powhatan' s 
Seaty  Va.,  the  home  of  the  Mayos. 

The  legs  are  usually  the  tapering  "  term  ;  "  are  some- 
times fluted  and  sometimes  inlaid  half-way  down  with  the 
husk  or  bell-flower,  and  most  frequently  end  in  the  term 
or  "  spade  foot."  The  covering,  whether  of  silk,  linen,  or 
leather,  is  fastened  over  the  front  rail  by  one  or  two  rows 
of  evenly  studded  brass  nails,  and  upon  the  back  of  the 
chair  appear  such  ornaments  as  the  urn,  with  or  without 
drapery,  the  lotus,  the  bell-flower,  the  acanthus,  the  rosette, 
the  shell,  and  very  often  three  feathers  out  of  compliment 
to  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Chairs  with  stufl^ed  backs  he  calls 
"  cabriole  chairs  "  and  two  of  the  designs  **  have  been  exe- 
cuted with  good  efl^ect  for  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  The  enrichments  may  be  either  carved,  carved 
and  gilt,  or  japanned."      His  stuffed  chairs  have,  as  a  rule, 

47  • 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

very  short  arms,  and  sometimes  the  backs  are  surmounted 
by  the  famous  three  feathers,  an  urn,  or  a  bow  of  ribbon. 
A  typical  Heppelwhite  stuffed  chair  appears  on  page 
451  with  a  table  that  belonged  to  Rebecca  Motte,  a  Revo- 
lutionary heroine  of  South  Carolina,  and  a  fire-screen  of 
this  period.  These  pieces  are  owned  by  Miss  Susan  Prin- 
gle,  Charleston,  S.  C.     A  "Field  bed  "  with  one  of  Hep- 


mm^jjfj^W!^ 


SOFA 
Belonged  to  Samuel  Barron,  now  in  the  rooms  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord,  Mass.     See  below. 

pelwhite's  characteristic  "sweeps"  is  reproduced  on  page 
454.  It  was  owned  by  Stephen  Girard  anc^  is  now  in 
Girard  College,  Philadelphia. 

A  sofa  with  mixed  Heppelwhite  and  Sheraton  charac- 
teristics appears  on  this  page.  It  was  probably  made  by  a 
native  cabinet-maker,  and  belonged  to  Samuel  Barron.  It 
is  now  in  the  rooms  of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord, 
Mass.  An  interesting  sofa  faces  page  466.  It  was  bought 
by  Perry  G.  Childs,  Esq.,  at  the  sale  of  Colonel  Benjamin 
Walker's  effects  in  Utica  soon  after  his  death  in  18  18.  It 
is  said  to  have  belonged  to  Baron  Steuben,  the  Revolution- 

47* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

ary  hero,  on  whose  staff  Colonel  Walker  served,  and  one  of 
whose  executors  he  was.  It  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Child's 
grand-daughter,  Mrs.  John  Stebbins,  who  owns  and  occu- 
pies his  old  home,  Willowbank^  Cazenovia,  N.  Y. 


TWO  CHAIRS  AND  A  LETTER-CASE 
Owned  by  MU»  Anne  Van  Cortlandt.  Croton-on-Hudson,  N.  V.      See  page  484. 

His  Confidante  and  Duchesse  sofas,  desks  and  book- 
cases, tables  and  beds,  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  last  chapter 
of  this  book.  We  must  mention  here,  however,  the  side- 
board, which  is  no  longer  a  table,  but  has  developed  into 
a  piece  of  furniture  with  drawers  and  compartments. 
•*  The  great  utility  of  this  piece  of  furniture,"  Heppel- 
white  remarks,  "  has  procured  it  a  very  general  reception ; 
and  the  conveniences  it  affords  render  a  dining-room  in- 

473 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

complete  without  a  sideboard."  He  gives  several  designs 
showing  their  internal  construction,  with  compartments  for 
wine  bottles  and  drawers  for  cloth  and  napkins.  In  one 
he  has  a  drawer  "  lined  with  green  cloth  to  hold  plate,  etc., 
under  a  cover  " ;  and  another,  lined  with  lead  for  the  con- 
venience of  holding  water  to  wash  glasses,  etc.  "There 
must  be  a  valve  cock  or  plug  at  the  bottom  to  let  off  the 
dirty  water;  and  also  in  the  other  drawer,  to  change  the 
water  necessary  to  keep  the  wine,  etc.,  cool ;  or  they  may 
be  made  to  take  out.  '  The  Heppelwhite  sideboard  stands 
on  tapering  legs  and  has  a  serpentine  front.  Its  ornaments 
are  carved,  painted  or  inlaid  in  variously  coloured  woods, 
and  the  designs  are  rosettes,  urns,  wreaths,  and  the  husk  or 
bell-flower.  "They  are  often  made,"  he  says,  "to  fit  into 
a  recess ;  but  the  general  custom  is  to  make  them  from 
55^  to  7  feet  long,  3  feet  high,  and  from  28  to  32  inches 
wide." 

A  handsome  sideboard  of  the  Heppelwhite  school  faces 
page  470.  This,  as  well  as  the  knife-boxes  upon  it,  be- 
longed ro  Gen.  Samuel  Ten  Broeck  (1745— 182 1),  and  was 
in  the  Calendar  House  at  Clermont,  N.  Y.  These  pieces 
are  now  owned  by  his  descendants.  Dr.  Herman  V.  Myn- 
derse,  Mr.  William  Livingston  Mynderse,  and  Miss  Helen 
Livingston  Mynderse,  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  The  side- 
board is  mahogany  inlaid  with  satin-wood  ornaments,  con- 
sisting of  the  husk,  or  bell-flower,  on  the  legs,  and  the 
shell-fluting  in  the  corners  of  the  doors.  The  foot  is  the 
"term"  or  "spade"  of  which  Heppelwhite  was  so  fond. 

He  also  gives  sideboards  without  drawers,  and  when 
these  are  used  in  spacious  dining-rooms  they  are  accompa- 
nied by  pedestals  and  vases,  one  being  placed  at  each  end 
of  the  sideboard.     One  pedestal,  lined  with  tin,  serves  as  9 

47* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

plate-warmer,  being  provided  with  racks  and  a  stand  for  a 
heater.  The  other  pedestal  is  a  pot-cupboard.  **  The  vases 
may  be  used  to  hold  water  for  the  use  of  the  butler,  or 
iced  water  for  drinking,  which  is  inclosed  in  an  inner  par- 


SHERATON    CHAIR 
Owned  by  the  Colonial  Dames,  Baltimore,  Md.     See  page  484. 


tition,  the  ice  surrounding  it;  or  may  be  used  as  knife- 
cases,  in  which  case  they  are  made  of  wood,  carved,  painted 
or  inlaid ;  if  used  for  water,  may  be  made  of  wood  or  cop- 
per japanned.  The  height  of  the  pedestal  is  the  same  as 
the  sideboard,  and  i6  or  i8  inches  square;  the  height  of 
the  vase  about  2  feet  3  inches." 

Where  sideboards  are  without  drawers,  the  cellarets,  or 
gardes  dc  vin^  appear.  "These  are  made  of  mahogany,  and 
hooped    with   brass   lacquered ;    the   inner   part  is   divided 

47$ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

with  partitions  and  lined  with  lead  for  bottles;  may  be 
made  of  any  shape."  Upon  Heppelwhite's  sideboard,  the 
knife-case  was  always  present,  **  made  of  mahogany,  satin 
or  other  wood  at  pleasure."  "Vase  knife  cases"  (of  the 
shape  that  faces  page  130)  are  "usually  made  of  satin  or 
other  light-coloured  wood,  and  may  be  placed  at  each  end 
on  the  sideboard,  or  on  a  pedestal ;  the  knives,  etc.,  fall 
into  the  body  of  the  vase,  the  top  of  which  is  kept  up  by 
a  small  spring  which  is  fixed  to  the  stem  which  supports 
the  top;   may  be  made  of  copper  painted  and  japanned." 

Tea-chests,  tea-caddies,  urn-stands,  brackets,  terms  for 
busts,  cornices,  girandoles,  reading-stands,  shaving-stands, 
hanging-shelves,  and  bed  pillars,  all  come  in  for  their 
share  of  attention  in  Heppelwhite's  book. 

Heppelwhite  lasted  but  three  years,  for  we  have  already 
seen  on  page  436  that  Sheraton  says  in  his  preface  that  that 
cabinet-maker  had  "caught  the  decline"  of  popular  taste. 
The  Cabinet-Maker  and  Upholsterer  s  Drawing-Book  appeared 
in  1 79 1 .  Previous  to  this,  he  had  published  eighty-four 
Designs  for  Furniture  which  are  undated,  but  they  are  thought 
to  have  been  issued  about  1 790,  when  he  settled  in  Soho, 
London.  He  also  published  The  Cabinet  Dictionary  (1803) 
and  The  Cabinet-Maker^  Upholsterer,  and  General  Artist' s 
Encycloptedia  (  1804—7). 

In  the  Gentletnans  Maga2:.ine  for  1806,  we  read:  "  In 
Broad  Street,  Soho,  after  a  few  days'  illness  of  a  phrenitis, 
aged  ^^y  Mr.  Thomas  Sheraton,  a  native  of  Stockton-upon- 
Tees,  and  for  many  years  a  journeyman  cabinet-maker, 
but  who,  since  about  the  year  1793,  has  supported  him- 
self, a  wife,  and  children,  by  his  exertions  as  an  author. 
In  1793,  he  published  a  work  in  two  volumes,  4to,  intitled 
The  Cabinet-Maker  and  Upholsterer  s  Drawing-Book,  to  which 

476 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

is  prefixed  a  numerous  list  of  subscribers,  including  almost 
all  the  principal  cabinet-makers  in  town  and  country. 
Since  that  time  he  has  published  30  numbers  in  folio,  of  a 
work  intended  to  be  completed  in  125  numbers,  entitled 
The  Cahinet-Maker  ami  Artist's  Encyclopfedia^  of  which  he 
sold  nearly  a  thousand  copies.  In  order  to  increase  the 
number  of  subscribers  to  this  work,  he  had  lately  visited 
Ireland,  where  he  obtained  the  sanction  of  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant, the  Marchioness  of  Donegal,  and  other  distinguished 
persons.  He  was  a  very  honest,  well-disposed  man,  of  an 
acute  and  enterprising  disposition  ;  but,  like  many  other 
self-taught  authors  shewed  the  want  of  a  regular  education 
in  his  writings.  He  has  left  his  family,  it  is  feared,  in 
distressed  circumstances." 

It  would  seem  from  the  above  that  Sheraton  did  not 
make  furniture  after  1793,  and  that  before  that  date  he  had 
to  fill  orders  like  any  other  ordinary  workman  ;  and  that  in 
all  probability,  Sheraton,  like  Chippendale,  executed  few  of 
his  own  cherished  designs. 

The  above  obituary  neglects  to  mention  that  Sheraton 
was  a  zealous  Baptist,  preached  in  chapels  of  that  sect,  and 
issued  various  religious  publications. 

In  his  preface,  Sheraton  complains  that  all  books  on 
cabinet-making  known  to  him  give  no  instructions  in  per- 
spective and  geometrical  drawing  and  also  omit  patterns  for 
ornaments.  The  first  and  second  parts  deal  with  geomet- 
rical lines  and  perspective  especially  for  the  use  of  the 
workman.  The  third  part  is  devoted  to  designs  for  furni- 
ture, which  ••  are  indeed  liable  to  change,"  for  it  is  not  in 
**  the  power  of  any  man  to  provide  against  it  by  making 
such  drawings  as  will  alwavs  be  thought  new."  Mouldings 
and  carvings  form  the  subject  of  the  fourth  part.      From 

477 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

his  remark  that  the  third  part  **  is  intended  to  exhibit  the 
present  taste  of  furniture,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  the 
workman  some  assistance  in  the  manufacture  of  it,"  we 
may  infer  that  he  is  not  as  anxious  to  place  his  own  designs 
upon  the  market  as  he  is  to  exhibit  the  styles  already  in 
fashion. 

The  Sheraton  style  is  a  reaction  from  the  rococo  ;  in 
general  form  and  treatment,  it  resembles  the  Louis  X  VI .  furni- 
ture. It  is  tall  and  slender,  with  tapering  "  term  "  legs  that 
are  often  fluted.     His  chairs  have  frequently  a  square  back. 

The  lyre  is  one  of  his  favourite  ornaments,  and  he  is  also 
fond  of  the  urn  or  vase,  swags  of  drapery,  the  vase  filled 
with  flowers,  columns,  the  husk  or  bell-flower  which  he 
always  calls  the  husk,  flutings,  columns  and  the  patera. 

He  likes  to  flute  or  loop  green  silk  behind  the  glass 
doors  of  his  bookcases  and  cabinets,  uses  a  great  deal 
of  brass  for  trimming,  and  is  famous  for  the  ingenious 
mechanism  which  he  introduces  into  his  pieces.  Although 
he  uses  mahogany  very  considerably,  he  is  fonder  of  white 
and  gold,  gold,  satin-wood  and  japanning.  His  furniture 
is  covered  with  silk  or  satin,  striped,  figured  or  woven,  or 
painted  or  printed  with  formal  designs.  An  excellent  idea 
of  his  style  may  be  gained  from  the  following  description 
of  a  drawing-room  taken  from  his  book. 

The  walls  **  are  panelled  in  paper  with  ornamented  bor- 
ders of  various  colours  " ;  above  the  windows  are  arches, 
"  wooden  frames  put  up  and  strained  with  canvas,  after 
which  the  same  kind  of  stuff  which  the  curtains  are  made 
of  is  formed  to  appear  like  a  fan,  and  drapery  tacked  on  to 
it " ;  above  the  pier-glasses,  square  paintings  completely 
filled  the  spaces  between  the  arched  windows.  The  fire- 
place is  furnished  with  a  grate  and  square  tiles.      Above  it 

478 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

is  a  mirror  matching  the  pier-glasses,  and  above  the  mir* 
ror,  a  square  picture  like  those  over  the  pier-glasses.  On 
either  side  of  the  fireplace  stands  a  sofa,  and  opposite  the 
fireplace  is  a  commode  table.  Three  chairs,  matching  the 
sofa,  stand  on  either  side  of  the  commode-table,  above 
which  is  a  mirror  and   square   picture   like  those  over  the 


SHERATON    SOFA 
Owntd  by  Edwin  Forrest }  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Wayside  Inn,  Sudbury.     See  page  482. 


fireplace  opposite.  Panelled  doors  are  on  the  other  side 
of  the  chairs.  Pier-tables  with  marble  tops  and  gold,  or 
white  and  gold,  frames,  stand  between  the  windows,  and 
the  glasses  above  them  appear  to  come  down  as  far  as  the 
stretchers  of  the  table,  for  "  a  piece  of  glass  is  fixed  behind 
the  pier-table,  separate  from  the  upper  glass  which  appears 
to  be  a  continuation  of  the  same  glass,  and  by  reflection 
makes  the  table  to  appear  double.  This  small  piece  of 
glass  may  be  fixed  either  in  the  dado  of  the  room  or  in 
the  frame  of  the  table."  A  single  candelabrum  stands  upon 
each   pier-table.     "The   sofas   are   bordered   off   in   three 

479 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

compartments  and  covered  with  figured  silk  or  satin.  The 
ovals  may  be  printed  separately  and  sevv^ed  on.  These  sofas 
may  be  cushioned  to  fill  their  backs  together  with  bolsters 
at  each  end."  The  chairs  match  the  sofas.  The  com- 
mode-table has  four  doors,  and  a  marble  top  to  match  the 
pier-tables.  "In  the  frieze  part  of  the  commode  is  a  tablet 
in  the  centre,  made  of  an  exquisite  composition  in  imita- 
tion of  statuary  marble.  These  are  to  be  had  of  any  figure, 
or  of  any  subject,  at  Mr.  Wedgewood's,  near  Soho  Square. 
They  are  let  into  the  wood,  and  project  a  little  forward. 
The  commode  should  be  painted  to  suit  the  furniture,  and 
the  legs  and  other  parts  in  gold,  to  harmonize  with  the 
sofa,  tables,  and  chairs." 

A  Dining-Parlour  similar  to  one  done  for  the  Prince 
of  Wales  in  Carlton  House  has  five  windows  that  come  to 
the  floor  and  pilasters  between  each.  A  large  glass  is  over 
the  chimney-piece  with  sconces  for  candles.  At  each  end 
of  the  room  is  a  "  large  sideboard  nearly  i  2  feet  in  length, 
standing  between  a  couple  of  Ionic  columns,  worked  in 
composition  to  imitate  fine  variegated  marble.  In  the  mid- 
dle are  placed  a  large  range  of  dining-tables,  standing  on 
pillars  with  four  claws  each,  which  is  now  the  fashionable 
way  of  making  these  tables.  The  claws  are  of  mahogany, 
made  in  the  style  of  the  French  with  broad  top  rails  hang- 
ing over  each  back  foot ;  the  legs  are  turned,  and  the  seats 
covered  with  red  leather."  The  curtains  "are  of  the  French 
kind." 

"The  general  style  of  furnishing  a  dining-parlour  should 
be  in  substantial  and  useful  things,  avoiding  trifling  orna- 
ments and  unnecessary  decorations.  The  pillars  are  em- 
blematic of  the  use  we  make  of  these  rooms,  in  which  we 
eat  the  principal  meal  for  nature's  support.      The  furniture 

480 


C/3 

<  5: 

Qu 

<  r 

<  ? 
O  ^• 

en  x: 


2=' 


O 


-« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS    . 

without  exception  is  mahogany,  as  being  the  next  suitable 
for  such  appartments."  Sheraton's  symbolism  is  always 
amusing  :  he  might  be  called  the  Maeterlinck  of  cabinet- 
makers. With  regard  to  the  dome,  he  writes  :  **  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  the  notion  of  employing  domes  for  the 


WORK-TABLE 
Owned  by  the  Pickering  family,  in  the  Piclcering  House,  Salem,  Mai*.     See  page  4S1. 

roofs  of  grand  buildings  was  lirst  suggested  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  hemisphere  surrounding  our  earth  or  horizon, 
forming  a  canopy  or  roof  to  the  globe  ;  which,  if  it  were 
so,  domes  had  their  origin  from  a  truly  sublime  and  mag- 
nificent idea.  The  use  of  domes  for  the  tops  ot  beds  is  ot 
much  later  date  than  for  buildings ;  but  it  is  certain, 
whoever  he  was  who  first  employed  domes  for  the  tops  of 
beds,  must  be  considered  as  a  person  of  enlarged  ideas,  as 
no  other  top  or  roof  for  a  genteel  bed  can   equal   them  ; 

481 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

therefore  we  see  them  generally  used  for  state  beds,  where 
both  grandeur  and  bold  effect  are  essentially  requisite." 

Sheraton's  beds,  some  of  which  will  be  described  in  the 
last  chapter,  are  very  curious  and  complicated  arrange- 
ments of  upholstery.  They  include  alcove  beds,  French 
beds,  state  beds,  beds  with  domes  and  canopies,  and  sofa 
beds.  His  sofas  are  very  handsome,  and  among  them  we 
lind  the  new  "Turkey  sofa"  and  the  "Chaise  Longue," 
the  use  of  which,  he  tells  us,  is  "  to  rest  or  loll  upon  after 
dinner."      A  good  specimen  appears  on  page  479. 

He  is  also  fond  of  designing  writing-desks,  dressing- 
tables,  and  work-tables  for  ladies,  and  equips  them  with 
many  ingenious  mechanical  contrivances.  The  work-table 
is  invariably  furnished  with  a  bag  suspended  to  a  frame 
that  can  be  drawn  forward.  This  he  calls  the  "  Pouch 
Table."  Sheraton's  chairs  are  highly  valued  to-day.  They 
usually  have  straight,  tapering  legs  and  square  backs.  The 
chair  to  the  left  on  page  473  (the  other  is  a  "  Fancy  " 
chair)  and  that  on  page  475  are  good  examples.  Two 
work-tables  appear  on  pages  481  and  483.  Each  has  some 
of  the  Sheraton  marks.  The  "kidney-shaped,"  which 
Sheraton  adopted  from  the  French,  determines  the  period 
of  the  one  owned  by  Mrs.  Henry  P.  Archer.  The  other 
example  belongs  to  Mr.  John  Pickering  of  Salem,  Mass. 

"  In  the  chair  branch,"  Sheraton  says,  "  it  requires  a 
particular  turn  in  the  handling  of  the  slopes,  to  make  them 
agreeable  and  easy.  It  is  very  remarkable,  the  difference 
of  some  chairs  of  precisely  the  same  pattern,  when  executed 
by  different  chair-makers ;  arising  chiefly  from  the  want  of 
taste  concerning  the  beauty  of  an  outline,  of  which  we 
judge  by  the  eye,  more  than  the  rigid  rules  of  geometry.'* 

Some  of  Sheraton's  late  designs  for  chairs   were  those 

482 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

he  named  •*  Herculaneums,"  of  course  in  the  antique  style ; 
hall  chairs  made  of  mahogany  **  with  turned  seats  and  the 
crest  or  arms  of  the  family  painted  on  the  back  ";  and 
"conversation  chairs,"  upon  which  the  "Incroyable"  of 
the  period  sat  with  the  back  of  the  chair  between  his  legs, 


WORK-TABLE 
K'\inej-»h»ped  work-uSle  owned  by  Mn.  Henry  P.  Archer,  Charleston,  S.  C.      See  pa(;e  481. 


resting  his  arms  upon  the  top  rail,  which  was  upholstered 
comfortably.  "The  manner  of  conversing  amongst  some 
of  the  highest  circles  of  company,"  says  Sheraton,  "  on 
some  occasions,  is  copied  from  the  French  by  lounging  on 
a  chair.  It  should  be  observed  that  they  were  made  extra- 
ordinary long  between  back  and  front,  for  the  purpose  of 
space  for  the  fashionable  posture;  and  also   that  they  are 

4«J 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

narrow  in  the  front  and  back,  as  an  accommodation  to 
this  mode  of  conversing." 

"The  conversation  chairs  are  used  in  library  or  draw- 
ing-rooms. The  parties  who  converse  with  each  other  sit 
with  their  legs  across  the  seat,  and  rest  their  arms  on  the 
top  rail,  which  for  this  purpose  is  made  about  three  inches 
and  a  half  wide,  stuffed  and  covered." 

Two  characteristic  Sheraton  chairs  are  reproduced  on 
pages  473  ^^^  475-  "^^^  ^^^^  chair,  to  the  left  of  the 
screen  letter-case,  belongs  to  Miss  Anne  Van  Cortlandt, 
Croton-on-the-Hudson.  The  second  belongs  to  the  Colon- 
ial Dames,  Baltimore,  Md.  It  is  of  mahogany  inlaid  with 
satin-wood  with  the  bell-flower  on  the  leg. 

The  sideboard  facing  page  458  is  of  the  Sheraton 
period.  It  is  inlaid  with  cord  and  tassels,  flowers  and 
ribbon  in  green,  red  and  yellow  woods.  The  knife-boxes 
have  silver  ball-and-claw  feet,  locks  and  handles. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FORE^FATHERS 


CARVED  OAK  SIDEBOARD 
Originally  otvned  by  Mr.  William  Colgate,  New  York;  now  by  Miss  Jessie  Colby t  New  York,  N.  Y. 

See  page  536, 


THE    FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRITICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGIS 


ILLUSTRATED 


i3_  t.^<G 


— ^^.'^Sx^lkw^l 


^'  -       r~   -        "        ^^  1^^  V^  i?^  ^^  ^^  -^^  -^^  ^ 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE   &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,   I  901,  BY 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE    &   COo 

NOVEMBER,    190 1 


CONTENTS 


Fashion   at  the  Beginning  of  the    Revolution 


487-492 


-496 

-500 
-509 


Contrast  between  the  North  and  South,  488  ;  Fashion  in  An- 
napolis, 488—9;  Maryland  hospitality,  489—90;  Wealth  and 
luxury  in  Annapolis,  490  ;  English  Fashions  and  English  Fur- 
niture, 492;   Quick  importations  of  Fashion,  492—3. 

Charleston  IN  THE  Eighteenth  Century   .     493 

Josiah  Quincv  on  Charleston,  493—4  ;  Home  of  Miles  Brew- 
ton,  494—5  ;  General  Washington  in  Charleston,  495-6. 

Virginia  Homes    in  the   Late  Century     .     496- 

Furniture  of  Mount  Vernon       .  .  .      500- 

General  Washington   in  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia        ......      509-516 

Extracts  from  General  Washington's  Diary,  509— 10 ;  General 
Washington's  instructions  for  furnishing  his  Philadelphia  house, 
512—14;  Thomas  Twining's  description  of  the  Presidential 
Home,  514;  General  Washington's  gift  to  Read,  516. 

Thomas  Jefferson's  Home  .  .  .      516-522 

Monticello  and  its  Furniture,  516—18;  Jefferson's  reverence 
for  relics  associated  with  the  United  States,  518-21  ;  Jcff^er- 
son's  interest  in  music,  521—2. 

Musical  Instruments  ....     522-528 

Musical  Glasses,  422—23;  improved  pianos  and  their  makers, 
524-8. 


CONTENTS 

Clocks,  Secretaries  and  VVork-Tables       .     528 

Musical  clocks  and  clocks  with  automata,  528— 30 ;  Joseph 
Bonaparte's  gift  to  Stephen  Girard,  530 ;  Bont'anti's  novel- 
ties, 531-2  ;   Lady  Blessington's  Work-table,  533. 

Sideboards  and  Desks 


PACE 

-533 


534-537 


Fashionable   Furniture  after    the   Revolution 

538 

General  Washington  in  the  North 
Boston  during  the  Revolution 
Stock  of  a  Nevs^  England  Cabinet-Maker 
Salem  after  the  Revolution 

Home  of  Elias  H,  Derby,  548—53  -,  Cleopatra's  Barge,  554-5. 

Philadelphia  During  the  Revolution        .     556 

The  Mischianza,  556-9  ;   Homes  of  Robert  Morris,  559-62; 
Home  of  William  Bingham,  562-4. 

Home  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  .  .  .      564 

General  Lafayette  at  Point  Breeze,  564-6  ;  examples  of  Em 
pire  Furniture,  566—8. 


540- 

543- 
546- 
548- 


-540 
-542 

-545 
-548 

■555 
-564 

-568 


J^^ii:^^: 


List  of  Illustrations 


WITH      CRITICAL      NOTES      ON     MANY     OP 
THE       PLATES       BY       RUSSELL       STURCIS 


ALL    THE   NOTES    rURNISHKD    BY    MR.    tTVBGIt 
ABE    FOLLOWED    BY    Hit  UCNATUBB. 


Frontispiece;   Carved  Oak  Sideboard      facing 

Thb  handsome  specimen  is  of  rich,  dark  oak  elaborately  tarred,  the  central  panels  of 
the  two  doors  being  appropriate  designs  of  fish  and  birds.  Above  the  doon  are  two  draw- 
ers, decorated  with  grotesque  heads,  which  are  hollowed  out  to  form  handles.  This  side- 
board suggests  the  old  livery  cupboard  (see  pges  36  and  107)  used  for  the  display  of  pbte 
and  for  delivery  or  service.  Upon  it  stand  some  valuable  examples  of  family  silver  brought 
from  England  by  the  Colgates  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.      E.  S. 


PAOB 

iii 


Carved  Ebony  Table 


FACING  487 


The  set  of  furniture  to  which  this  valuable  table  belongs  has  already  been  described  on 
page  416  and  in  the  first  note  to  the  illustrations  in  Part  VI.  The  Uble  is  of  unusual 
dimensions.  The  carving  on  the  base  consists  of  graceful  leaves  and  flowers  in  high  relief 
and  the  rich  border  suggests  lace.  Upon  the  table  stand  many  rare  ornaments  bought  in 
China  during  Mr.  Caleb  T.  Smith's  residence  there  from  1850  to  1870.  Among  them 
is  a  carved  ivory  ball,  nude  of  seven  balls  carved  one  within  the  other.  This  hangs  from 
a  standard  of  carved  ebony  that  was  made  especially  to  exhibit  this  treanue  to  advanugc. 
E.  S. 

French  Chair      ....... 

Armchair  of  the  modem  sort  with  cushioned  back  and  seat,  and  separately  cushioned 
arms,  the  whole  belonging  to  that  type  which  in  France  under  the  Regency  and  under  Loub 
XV.  were  called  confortabUt  with  an  attempted  use  of  the  English  term.  The  piece  in 
question  n  very  delicately  worked  with  refined  carving  forming  the  mouldings  at  the  edge, 
and  the  larger  surfaces  veneered  with  richly  veined  woods.      R.  Sturgis. 

Maryland  China  Cabinet         .  .  facing 

Comer  cupboard  with  glass  front,  an  unusual  piece  of  the  kind,  as  tight  and  graceful  as 
those  in  Part  V.  are  massive  and  in  a  sense  architectural  This  is  a  piece  of  the  delicate 
work  of  Heppclwhite's  time,  or  copying  hb  Khool  very  closely  The  inlaw's  and  the  deli- 
cate mouldinp  which  form  the  edges  of  the  door  paneb  below  and  in  the  glazed  doon 
above  form  similar  edges  and  also  the  sash  ban — all  these  being  made  of  the  delicately 
veined  wood — are  perfect  of  their  kind.      R.  Sturgb. 

Mahogany   Desk  ...... 

Chest  of  drawen  with  writing-desk  above.  Thb  combination  of  large  drawen  raised  well 
above  the  floor  and  of  a  desk  above  too  high  for  the  ordinary  writer  sitting  on  an  ordinary 
chair  was,  as  we  have  found,  ver)-  common  at  earlier  epochs.  The  present  piece  b  of 
the  beginning  uf  the  nineteenth  century  and  shows  much  of  that  indifference  to  decora- 
tive etfcct — that  satbfiction  with  surfaces  of  polbhed  mahogany  as  the  sole  eye-pleaainf 


489 


490 


491 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

element  in  the  composition — which  was  so  characteristic  of  the  years  from  1815  to  i860. 
It  is  only  when  the  workman  reaches  the  legs  of  the  piece  that  he  allows  himself  a  little 
divergence  into  ornamentation-,  and  that  ornamentation  b  of  the  most  obvious  and  simple 
character.      R.  Sturgis. 

French   Sok.a   and   Chair      .  .  .  .  -497 

Two  pieces  belonging  to  a  set  that  was  brought  from  France  by  Charles  Coteswortli 
Pinckney.  The  woodwork  is  lacquered  and  decorated  with  Chinese  figures.  The  feet 
of  the  sofa  terminate  in  brass  claws.      E.  S. 

Drawing  Room  ....  facing    491 

This  room  contains  excellent  examples  of  furniture  that  was  fashionable  about  the  time  of 
the  Revolution.  The  chairs  and  sofas  are  of  the  Sheraton  and  Heppelwhite  models,  with 
the  exception  of  two  carved  armchairs  that  belonged  to  Louis  Philippe.  The  house  and 
this  room  are  fiilly  described  on  pages  494-5.      £.  S. 

Mahogany  Sideboard      .....   498 

Sideboard  of  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  One  of  those  effective  pieces 
in  which  the  severer  taste  of  the  time  embodied  especially  in  the  Loun  Seize  work  of 
France  went  to  give  perfect  utility,  great  beauty  of  sur&ce,  sparing  and  well  applied  orna- 
ment and  generally  harmonious  composition.  This  is  one  of  the  most  effective  sideboards 
of  the  time.  The  reeded  surface  in  the  middle  below  represents  a  revolving  or  "disap- 
pearing' '  door  which  b  slid  sidewise,  and  packs  itself  away  behind  a  lining  of  thin  wood- 
work.     R.  Sturgis. 

Carved  Chair,  Carved  Mirror  and  Table    facing  498 

The  chair,  carved  with  a  delicate  openwork  pattern  of  leaves  and  flowers,  is  said  to  have 
come  from  India;  the  carved  ebony  mirror,  originally  in  the  Emperor's  Summer  Palace 
at  Pekin,  may  be  compared  with  other  examples  of  Chinese  carving  in  Part  VI.  and  in  the 
fWjnrispiece  to  this  chapter;  the  table  is  interesting  on  account  of  the  great  number  of 
South  American  woods  of  which  it  is  constructed  and  with  which  it  is  inlaid.  Upon  it 
stand  some  handsome  examples  of  Chinese  porcelain  and  carving,  including  a  box  of  chess- 
men.     E.  S. 

Mirror,    Chair,    Spinning-Wheel    and    Candel- 
abra    .....  facing  499 

The  mirror  is  described  on  page  499;  the  chair,  which  is  of  Gothic  design,  belongs  to 
the  period  of  the  Gothic  revival  under  Pugin  about  1820  to  1830.  The  seat  is  uphols- 
tered in  bright  worsted  work, — somewhat  reminiscent  of  the  old  Turkey-work.  The 
bronze  and  gilt  candelabra  are  described  on  pages  499-500.  The  spinning-wheel  b  a 
simple  one.      E.  S.  - 

Eleanor    Custis's     HarPvSichord     and    Tambour 

Frame        .......    <;oi 

Harpsichord  which,  like  the  spinets  seen  in  earlier  parts  of  thb  work,  has  in  its  case  and  the 
supporting  members  no  architectural  treatment,  no  carving,  no  inlay,  no  decorarion  of  the 
usual  sorts.  Elsewhere  there  has  been  considerarion  of  this  very  peculiar  phenomenon, 
namely,  the  complete  abstinence  of  the  designers  of  these  important  instruments  from  all 
sumptuousity  of  effect.      The  appearance  of  the  piano  changed  it  all  suddenly. 

The  piano  stool  shown  in  the  same  plate  belongs  rather  to  the  epoch  of  the  elaborate 
piano  facing  516  and  the  sofa  facing  510.  The  tambour  frame,  an  excellent  example  of 
that  forgotten  but  certainly  useful  and  agreeable  piece  of  fiimiture,  is  of  about  the  same 
date  as  the  harpsichord  and  the  difference  in  treatment  b  only  another  exemplificarion  of 
what  has  been  said  and  repeated  in  these  notes,  namely,  that  the  clavichords  of  different 
kinds  were  combined  with  frames  so  much  more  simple  than  other  contemporary  pieces. 
R.  Sturgb. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

rAoc 

Chair  from    Mount   Vernon   and   Painted  Rose- 
wood Card  Table      .....   505 

Card  table  in  whkh  painting  of  the  representative  tort,  with  flowen  more  or  lest  realistic 
in  character,  ha*  been  used  exactly  as  the  piece  on  page  $;7.  The  Greek  anthemioiu  at 
the  four  comers  of  the  table  when  opened  arc  also,  probably,  painted  and  not  inlaid  as 
they  would  have  been  forty  yean  earlier — for  this  table  b  probably  of  the  early  yean  of  the 
nintecnth  century. 

A  Tcry  beautiful  drawing-room  chair  with  the  ununial  feature  of  casten  for  all  four  legs, 
and  which  has  been  finished  in  what  is  now  called  "enamel"  paint,  white  or  creans- 
coloured,  is  earlier  than  the  table.  The  use  of  the  simple  fluting  and  the  spiral  bead  at  the 
edges  is  very  judicious  and  elfecdve.      R.  Sturgis. 

Washington's  Bedroom,  Mount  Vernon   .  facing  508 

Room  at  Mount  Vernon  in  which  the  entire  simplicity  of  the  eighteenth-century  pro- 
gramme of  house  furnishing  is  presented  to  us  in  an  interesting  way.  Washington  passed 
for  a  wealthy  land-holder  and  his  position  as  President  and  as  past  president  would  neces- 
sarily have  caused  him  to  live  as  sumptuously  as  any  of  hb  neighbors  or  contemporaries  in 
more  distant  States.  Here,  however,  in  a  good  bedroom,  there  is  no  pretence  made  of  any 
elaborateness  of  decoration  or  furniture  as  having  ever  existed.  The  carpet  of  course  it 
modem,  and  although  the  pieces  of  furniture  be  of  Washington's  time  they  do  not  neces- 
sarily belong  to  the  room  in  which  they  are  now  placed  ;  but  the  room  n  shown  as  the 
plain  thing  that  it  must  have  been  even  when  Washington  was  spending  his  few  yean  of 
retirement  at  his  ancestral  home. 

The  mantelpiece  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  the  room;  the  stone  or  slate 
£icing  below  and  the  wooden  frame  shelf  and  frieze  between  are  all  characteristic  and  ex- 
tremely appropriate.  The  great  chest  of  drawen  with  bookcase  is  of  the  type  which  has 
been  shown  in  richer  examples.  The  trunk  mail  or  leather  travelling  trunJu,  the  chair, 
and  the  round  stand  are  of  Washington's  earlier  days  when  he  was  still  in  comnund  of  the 
army  or  even  before  that,  but  the  Jauteiti/  is  of  his  post-pretidential  time,  a  piece  of  the 
closing  yean  of  the  century.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Sofa  ....  facing   509 

So&  in  which  the  elaborate  style  of  earring  well  shown  in  the  piano  &cing  516  exists  in 
cren  greater  richness,  but  without  quite  the  same  intelligent  disposition  of  the  parts.  It  is, 
howerer,  a  matter  of  extreme  difficulty  to  design  aright  the  wooden  outline  to  which  such 
a  frame  as  this  is  limited.  It  coven  and  conceals  the  solid  structure  of  the  sofa  and  some 
put  of  it  nuy  even  belong  to  that  structure,  but  the  important  part  played  by  the  textile 
nuterial  which  coven  seat,  arms  and  back  leaves  to  the  designer  of  the  woodwork  so  very 
little  opportunity  that  it  must  be  an  able  man  who  reaches  great  tuccen  in  the  treatment 
of  hit  design.      R.  Sturgis. 

George  Washington's  Desk  .  .  .  •   5'! 

This  it  an  example  of  the  heavy  and  clumsy  furniture  that  supplanted  the  Sheraton  styles, 
and  the  turned  balusten  at  the  top  and  the  tAuies  of  the  bell-flower,  large  and  coane  in  de- 
sign, inlaid  in  utin-wood  contribute  the  only  decoration.  The  roll  top  is  composed  of 
narrow  strips  of  wood  glued  on  canvas.  This  work  Sheraton  calls  "  tambour."  The 
sideboard  on  page  498  has  a  tambour  shutter  to  close  the  arched  opening.      E.  S. 

Chair   from    Washington's    Presidential  Man- 


sion ....... 

Armchair  of  L»m$  Sttat  detign  and  covered  with  a  piece  of  tilk  brocade  of  the  period. 
This  is  a  characteristic  and  well  preserved  specimen  ;  not  otherwise  were  made  the  chain 
which  fumished  the  smaller  Trianon  or  the  mansions  of  the  nobility  at  Versailles.  R. 
Sturgis. 


513 


Musical   Glasses  ....  facing   514 

Harmonica  in  which  the  neceatanly  plain  box,  the  lower  part  of  which  is,  in  the  best  ex- 
amples, hollow  and  resonant,  b  made  as  effective  as  possible  to  the  workman  as  a  piece  of 
furniture  by  the  mounting  upon  two  columns  and  a  front  piece  suggrsrive  of  a  lyre.  Such 
piece*  were  somewhat  in  vogue  in  France  from  1 770  to  the  cloae  of  the  century,  and  the 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

TAOt 

popular  word  was  that  they  were  the  invention  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  It  seems,  how* 
ever,  that  the  musical  glasses  originated  by  Franklin  were  pbyed  with  the  finger  only,  ana 
by  means  of  a  delicate  rubbing  which  caused  the  saucers  with  water  in  them  to  vibrate  with 
a  more  or  less  shrill  sound  as  the  amount  of  water  was  increased.  A  later  development 
involved  the  use  of  larger  and  deeper  glasses  which  were  played  upon  by  little  hammers  of 
cork.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chair  Given   by  Washington  to  Read       .  '5^5 

Armchair  of  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  back  formed  of  that  curious  combina- 
tion of  lines  and  curves  which  stood  for  a  Greek  lyre.  It  is  finished  in  white  or  ivoiy 
white.      R.  Sturgis. 

Pianoforte  .....  facing    515 

Piano  of  an  early  form  and  exemplifying  perfectly  the  florid  style  of  1820  and  following 
years.  This  style  we  have  occasion  to  touch  upon  in  connection  with  high-post  bedsteads 
in  Parts  V.  and  VI.  and  in  the  sofa  facing  page  510  and  other  pieces  in  the  present  Part 
Vll.  Nowhere,  however,  does  the  sculpture  seem  as  perfect  as  here.  The  gilded  metal 
caps  at  the  junction  of  these  legs  with  the  piano  itself  and  the  metal  rosettes  of  two  pat- 
terns in  the  fneze  above  are  suggestions  taken  from  the  French  Empire  style  ;  so  much  re- 
mains, but  it  does  seem  as  if  the  lich  sculpture  in  hard,  dark  coloured,  highly  polished 
wood  had  come  from  a  style  earlier  than  that  of  the  Empire.  It  is  as  if  traditions  had  been 
preserved  in  England  and  perhaps  even  more  carefully  preserved  in  the  Atlantic  States  of 
America,  leaning  upon  which  the  workmen  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  were  able  to 
strike  out  this  rather  daring  line  for  themselves.     R.  Sturgis. 

Thomas   Jefferson's  Desk  .  .  .  -519 

Writing-desk  with  the  hinged  and  revolving  fi^nt  piece  forming  a  condnuation  of  the 
steep  slope  above  ;  the  inkstands  finding  safety  in  one  of  the  upper  drawers,  which,  when 
opened,  is  seen  to  contain  racks  for  pens  and  the  like,  as  well  as  square  compartments  for 
the  ink-bottles  This  arrangement  of  providing  the  desired  slope  is  common  in  the  porta- 
ble writing-desks  of  the  period — that  is  to  say,  in  the  square-cornered  brass-bound  mahog- 
any or  mahogany  veneered  boxes  which  gentlemen  used  habitually  from  1800  to  1850, 
and  in  which  their  important  papers  were  often  kept.  Such  a  portable  desk  was  always 
furnished  with  firm  handles  dropping  into  sockets,  so  as  to  be  well  out  of  the  way,  and 
the  owner  might  take  it  on  a  sea  voyage  with  him  or  into  the  country,  feeliog  that  he  had 
all  his  precious  belongings  under  his  hand.  Here  the  same  form  is  applied  to  a  more  sta- 
tionary piece  of  furniture  which  in  itself  contains  no  ornamental  feature  except  the  mould- 
ed and  reeded  legs.      R.  Sturgis. 

West  Parlour,  Mount  Vernon  .  facing  520 

Room  at  Mount  Vernon  furnished  with  a  carpet  woven  for  the  room  itself  with  the  arms 
of  the  United  States.  This  is  a  medallion  carpet  rather  good  in  general  design,  the  pro- 
portion of  the  parts  being  well  kept,  but  the  barbarous  heraldry  of  the  early  nineteenth 
century  was  opposed  to  anything  like  great  success  in  colour  combination.  One  thing  is 
noticeable — the  escdtcheon  borne  on  the  breast  of  the  eagle  has  simply  the  chief  azure  and 
the  field  prty  per  pie  argent  and  gules,  there  being  then  two  unusual  features,  one  alto- 
gether welcome  and  the  other  of  doubtful  propriety.  In  the  first  place  the  chief  should 
not  have  the  stars  ;  they  belong  in  the  flag,  but  not  in  the  escutcheon  of  the  United 
States,  as  that  was  adopted  by  Act  cf  Congress,  and  in  this  the  present  example  is  correct. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  field  below,  the  chief  instead  of  thirteen  pieces  (or  vertical  stripes) 
has  here  seventeen,  and  the  silver  or  white  stripes  are  in  the  greater  number ;  in  this  the 
heraldic  marshalling  before  us  is  incorrect. 

The  ivory  fin'ished  fauieuil  of  very  beautiful  Louis  Seiase  design  u  of  the  second  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  of  course  not  of  the  sixteenth,  as  its  printed  inscription  sets 
forth.      R.  Sturgis. 

Lady's  Writing-Desk  .  .  .         facing   521 

This  desk  is  somewhat  similar  in  form  to  the  letter-case  (see  pages  T19  and  473).  This 
is  constructed  of  rosewood,  and  is  beautifully  inlaid  with  ivory.  It  is  furnished  with  a 
clock  and  a  musical  box.  This  was  imported  from  Belgium  early  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.     E.  S. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAOI 

Pianoforte  .......   525 

Piano  of  the  earliest  type,  the  frame  having  the  tame  severe  simplicity  which  has  been 
noted  in  connection  with  harpsichords  and  spinets  —  the  instnintents  which  were  the 
forerunnen  of  the  piano.  It  remains  a  puzzle — this  severe  simplicity,  this  abcdnence  from 
all  attempt  at  elaborateness  of  design— characteristic  of  the  earlier  clavichords.  As  toon, 
however,  ai  the  piano  was  introduced,  the  very  great  weight  of  the  necessar)'  mechanism 
pointed  the  way  to  a  different  treatment  of  the  franoe,  and  the  result  appear*  in  the  sis- 
legged  design  with  legs,  moreover,  much  heavier  and  stronger  shown  b  the  hardly  bter 
piano  ficing  page  516.     R.  Sturgis. 

Secretary   ........  529 

Exritoire  of  the  upright  pattern  which,  as  a  recent  French  novelist  has  said,  n  found  now- 
adays only  in  country  hotels ;  having,  however,  the  somewhat  unusual  feature  of  a  brge 
music -box  for  its  crowning  member.  It  is  undoubtedly  with  some  reference  to  the  artistic 
character  of  this  last-named  refinement  that  the  uppermost  member  of  the  compotition  is 
so  ekbonte  with  its  late  Ionic  columns  and  gilded  metal  appliques.     R.  Sturgi*. 

Mahogany  Sideboard  .  .  .  facing  532 

Sideboard  of  about  1810  with  the  simple  Georgian  style  in  its  full  force.  The  pieces  of 
this  epoch  cannot  compare  for  grace  with  thoae  of  thirty  yean  earlier,  but  they  are  ra- 
tiotul  and  comely  and  enable  the  owner  to  fiimish  and  decorate  a  room  in  entire  accord- 
ance with  the  life  of  a  &mily  of  cultivated  and  intelligent  persons.  The  mirror  fiame, 
which  is  of  about  the  same  date  of  the  sideboard,  shows  the  richer  work  of  the  time.  For 
some  reason  not  explained  these  frames  in:ended  to  be  gilt  (as  they  most  commonly  were) 
have  always  been  allowed  to  retain  a  richness  of  form  which  we  can  almost  say  was  de- 
nied to  every  other  utensil  or  piece  of  furniture  from  1 790  to  1850.      R.  Sturgis. 

Lady  Blessington's  Work-Table        .  .         .  533 

Attention  has  been  called  in  the  text  to  the  popularity  of  the  lady's  work-table.  This 
example  was  specially  designed  for  Lady  Blessington.  When  the  top,  which  is  eigh- 
teen inches  in  diameter,  is  opened,  it  shows  a  well  surrounded  by  small  compartments. 
No  work -table  was  considered  complete  without  the  bag,  or  pouch,  or  well,  which  was 
intended  for  both  use  and  ornament.      This  piece  of  furniture  is  richly  inlaid.      E.  S. 

Mahogany     Sideboard,     Knife-Boxes    and    Cel- 
laret   535 

Sideboard  of  the  bter  yean  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  an  elaborate  piece  with  three  cup- 
boards, two  deep  drawen  for  holding  bottles  erect,  and  seven  other  drawen  of  different 
ases.  The  effort  to  combine  so  many  parts  in  one  piece  of  furniture  has  resulted  in  a 
fccm  leas  entirely  satisfying  to  the  artisdc  sense  than  the  simpler  ones  shown  in  Parts  III. 
and  IV.  The  obvious  utility  of  the  whole  and  the  severe  simplicity  of  its  design  saves  it, 
of  course,  from  anything  approaching  ugliness.  Such  a  piece  is  handsomer  when  put  to 
full  use  with  all  the  three  memben  of  its  top  filled  with  their  appropriate  pieces,  as  in- 
deed they  are  shown  in  the  present  picture.  The  knife-boxes  are  very  good  in  design  and 
it  is  a  pity  that  one  of  them  was  not  shown  closed  that  they  might  be  judged  of  com- 
pletely. Small  chest,  probably  a  wine-cooler,  set  beneath  the  sideboard,  but  altogether 
apart  firom  it      R.  Sturgis. 

Desk  and  Chair  ....  .  .  537 

Chair  and  writing-table  of  the  early  nineteenth  century.  The  writing-uble  is  of  that 
delicate  and  simple  form  which  is  most  fitting  to  a  drawing-room  or  the  comer  of  a  dining- 
room  which  is  used  for  other  purposes  than  the  family  meals.  The  top  is  hinged  at  one 
edge  and  lifb  up  with  a  falling  brace  and  a  ratchet  so  as  to  be  adjustable  at  different  angles; 
and  little  sliding  shelves  at  'wo  ends  serve  for  the  safe  pbcing  of  ink-stands,  and,  it  appears, 
for  cups  of  tea  or  mugs  of  liquid  refreshment.  This  piece  of  furniture  is  of  the  most 
graceful  and  attractive  character.  The  brass  knobs  are  probably  of  the  epoch.  R. 
Sturgis. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAOI 

"Banjo  Clock"  and  Clock  wtth  Cherry  Case 

FACING     533 

Two  clocks,  the  one  a  wall  clock  intended  to  be  secured  high  up  in  a  stair  hall  or  sinnilar 
exposed  situation,  the  other  a  tall  clock  like  several  others  which  we  have  seen  in  other 
parts  of  the  present  work. 

The  wall  clock  is  of  the  best  form,  an  extremely  intelligent  design,  allowing  for  the 
swing  of  the  pendulum,  and  its  whole  shape  expressing  not  only  the  essence  of  the  thing 
in  that  it  must  be  suspended  by  hooks  in  the  back  and  supported  on  nothing  beneath  it, 
but  also  assuming  a  sufficiently  graceful  outline  and  showing  a  general  composition  hr 
above  the  average  of  merit.  The  standing  clock  also  b  one  of  the  best  examples,  the 
use  of  the  classical  columns  is  really  exempbry;  it  is  seldom  that  these  architectural 
members  are  introduced  into  furniture  with  so  much  good  taste  and  so  good  a  result. 
R.  Sturgis. 

Curled  Maple   Desk  .  .  .  .  •  541 

Chest  of  drawers  with  writing-desk  and  bookcase,  a  piece  made  sumptuous  by  beautiful 
veneer,  probably  of  curl  maple.  The  judicious  use  of  this  rippled  golden  surface  with  its 
semi-translucent  lustre — its  restriction  to  the  sunken  parts,  drawer  fronts  and  paneb,  b  as 
noticeable  as  its  inherent  beauty.  It  was  a  good  feeling,  too,  which  made  the  piece  so  severe, 
so  free  from  moulded  and  carved  ornamentation,  depending  altogether  upon  the  contrast  of 
the  darker  and  lighter  wood  and  the  beauty  of  the  grain.      R.  Sturgb. 

Chairs  of  French   Make  .....      545 

Chair  and  armchair  in  which  a  rude  carving  filb  the  principal  slat  of  the  back.  The 
range  of  subject  is  shown  by  comparison  of  the  two;  that  on  the  right  being  a  Bacchus  and 
that  on  the  left,  a  very  simple  and  humble  maiden  watering  her  flowers.  Another  chair 
of  the  same  set  has  a  Pan — an  JEgi-Pan — playing  on  what  seems  to  be  meant  for  a 
modem  flute.  It  would  be  hard  to  date  these  pieces  with  accuracy  or  to  establish  their 
provenience.  They  seem  to  be  the  work  of  a  man  of  independence  who  was  trying  to  de- 
sign something  which  was  not  made  by  his  competitors.      R.  Sturgb. 

Console  Table    .....  facing  548 

Side  table  in  Empire  Style  with  an  unusual  display  of  metal  appliques,  which  are  gener- 
ally effective  and  well  placed.  The  candelabra  and  centrepiece,  with  dancing  Cupids  car- 
rying a  corbeille,  are  of  good  French  work,  the  candelabra  older  than  the  centrepiece, 
which  b  probably  contemporary  with  the  table  upon  which  it  stands.  The  upright  in  the 
design  of  the  candelabra  is  composed  of  three  terminal  figures,  or,  more  properly,  of 
satyrs  or  heads  resting  upon  gaines  adorned  with  festoons.  This,  in  gilt  bronze,  is  an  ex- 
tremely effective  ornamentation,  and  makes  the  chief  part  of  the  design,  artistically  speak- 
ing, an  especially  fine  and  unusual  piece  of  metal  work.     R.  Sturgb. 

Mahogany   Sofa  ......   549 

Sofa  covered  with  hair  cloth,  the  carved  wooden  flanking-piecc  made  up  of  arm  and  leg 
conjoined  at  either  end  having  that  same  unmeaning  character  very  common  in  the  Eng- 
lish and  Anglo-American  work  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  The  world  of  decoraUon  of 
art,  applied  to  purpose  of  daily  life  as  well  as  the  other  neighbouring  world  of  fine  art  pure 
and  simple,  was  in  its  decline  at  this  time — on  the  slope  of  the  decline  which  did  not  reach 
its  lowest  depth  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.      R.  Sturgis. 

Daniel  Webster's   Desk      .  .  .  facing  549 

Chest  of  drawers  with  writing-desk  ;  a  piece  of  the  well-known  type  so  often  represented 
in  thb  work,  but  one  of  a  singular  severity  and  simple  grace.  The  effect  is  obtained  al- 
most wholly  by  beauty  of  the  wood,  the  front  of  the  drawers  being  delicately  veneered,  and 
by  the  brass  handles  and  scutcheons  which  fortunately  have  been  preserved.  The  propor- 
tions, however,  are  unusually  good  and  ^ve  the  piece  special  charm.      R.  Sturgb. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAOI 

Console  Table  ......   553 

A  table,  tuch  u  m  the  early  )-ean  of  the  nineteenth  century  wu  ma<ie  to  ttutd  between  the 
windows  of  3  drawing  room  and  usually  beneath  a  "  pier  glati,"  the  mirror  betMreen  the 
uprights  of  the  table  continuing  the  reflected  surface  nearly  to  the  floor.  Such  pieces, 
o^n  called  pier  tables,  allow  of  a  certain  dignity,  and  that  fact  is  sought  in  the  present 
case  by  the  very  massive-deeming  round  columns,  probably  veneered  and  fitted  with  gilt 
metal  bases  and  capiuls.  A  gilt  metal  applique  tills  the  centre  of  the  front  rail.  This  it 
a  good  specimen  of  the  simpler  furniture  of  the  Stj/e  Em  fire.      R.  Sturgis. 

Cabinet  ......      facing  554 

This  is  an  example  of  native  carving,  the  work  of  an  amateur  who  amused   himself  in 
his  leisure  with  carving  chain,  tables,  mantelpieces,  etc.,  etc.      This  piece  is  further  en- 
riched with  porcelain  panels  and  brass  hinges.       E.  S. 

Chair  and  Table  ....         facing    555 

Table  with  painted  top,  an  excellent  specimen  of  the  painted  work  of  the  earlier  yean 
of  the  nineteenth  centur)-.  The  p«eudo-Greck  border  is  pretty  in  design,  though  it  does 
noC  well  frame  the  painting  which  tills  the  medallion. 

The  chair  is  an  unusually  well  designed  instance  of  the  four-backed  type.     R.  Sturgis. 

Fancy  Chair         .......   557 

Chair  of  the  later  Georgian  period,  with  fine  and  solid  rush  scat,  the  frame  highly  dec- 
orated with  painting.  A  chair  otfen  no  Urge  surface  upon  which  a  picture  may  be  painted 
except  at  the  inner  or  principal  side  of  the  back ;  and  this  is  hidden  by  the  person  of  the 
occupant  and  is  in  danger  of  injury.  And  yet  at  the  time  (1815  to  1830)  when  the 
painting  of  little  landscape  pictures  was  thought  good  for  door-paneb  and  table-tops,  and 
for  the  edges  of  carefully  bound  books  beneath  the  gilding  of  the  leaves,  a  slight  tendency 
in  the  same  direction  naturally  took  shape  in  the  decoration  of  drawing-room  chain.  This 
vestige  of  the  admirable  art  of  the  eighteenth  century,  centred  in  France  and  extending 
thence  over  Europe,  brought  with  it  some  really  admirable  compositions  in  the  spirit  of 
the  English  landscape  painten  of  the  time.  The  slight  leaf  painting  upon  the  legs  of  the 
chair  is  a  natural  and  proper  "  echo  "  of  the  color  decoration  above.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  and  Gilt  Mirror  .  .  .   559 

Minor  frame  of  the  earlier  yean  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  student  will  note  the 
intelligence  of  the  design — the  systematic  way  in  which  the  breaks  of  the  outer  border  of 
the  frame — breaks  which  in  architecture  are  called  ancons  and  lugs,  suffice  in  the  present 
instance  to  cover  and  excuse  the  spirited  bits  of  free  pierced  carving,  which  forms  a  branch 
with  oak  leaves  and  acorns,  seeming  to  hang  down  on  each  side.  The  design  is  spoiled 
by  the  elaborate  lettering  which  has  been  added  in  bter  times.      R.  Sturgis. 

Marble  Table  and  Chairs  ok  the   Early  Nine- 
teenth Century       .  .  .  facing  560 

Small  centre  table  of  marble  beautifully  veined.  The  let  of  tea-pot,  cream-pot,  sugar-pot 
and  two  cups  and  saucen  are  probably  of  the  royal  factory  of  Sevres  and  of  about  l8io. 
The  buildings  represented  in  the  medallions  painted  upon  these  pieces  might  all  be  identi- 
fied with  a  little  trouble,  for  the  custom  of  the  times  was  to  represent  actual  Kenes  and 
objects  as  the  motive  for  these  adornments — a  style  of  decoration  certainly  not  character- 
istic of  ceramic  ware  but  idendlied  with  the  work  of  this  great  establishment.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Secretary  .....  .  .   561 

This  piece  may  be  compared  with  Governor  Wentworth's  desk  on  page  369.  This  is  of 
rich  mahogany.  The  legs  are  very  simple  as  abo  are  the  brass  handles,  but  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  interior  is  i)uite  elaborate.      Hrrr  we  find  a  number  of  pigeon-holes,  draweis 

Vii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


and  secret  drawers  above  the  writing-slab,  which  is  somewhat  nearer  the  floor  than  usual 
in  such  pieces.  The  upper  portion,  which  is  enclosed  with  doors,  contains  many  con- 
venient drawers  and  pigeon-holes  and  partitions  evidently  for  the  use  of  large  ledgers.  The 
cornice  is  ornamented  with  a  gilded  eagle  and  burning  torches  also  gilded.      £.  S. 


Mahogany  Chair  .  .  .  .  .     . 

Drawing-room  chair  of  the  severe  pseudo-classical  style  which  was  developed  from  the 
French  cbssical  revival  under  Louis  XIV.,  but  carried  further  and  to  its  decadence  under 
the  first  Napoleon.  The  Englishmen  working  for  the  simple  English  dining-room  or  draw- 
ing-room rejected  wrought  ornamentation,  colour  and  gilding,  and  thought  that  they  we"^ 
doing  something  noble  and  altogether  worthy  in  seeking  alone  the  polished  surface  of  ma- 
hogany combined  with  what  they  thought  were  classical  forms.  The  result  is  not  ugly 
merely  because  the  piece  shows  well  enough  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended,  and  pro- 
vides a  comfortable  seat  without  the  disfigurement  of  ill-applied  ornamentation.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Empire  Chair  ...... 

Armchair  in  the  "  Empire  Style  "  and  probably  of  French  make.  This  is  a  characteristic 
specimen  ;  seldom  in  America  is  to  be  found  so  unmistakeably  'mperial  a  design.  The 
attempted  classical  character  of  the  hollowed  back  is  as  important  as  the  purely  decorative 
parts.     R.  Sturgis 


563 


565 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR   FOREFATHERS 

Part  VII 


CARVED   EBONY   TABLE 

Oivnec/  by  Mrs.  Caleb  T.  Smith,  Smithtmvn,  L.  I.      See  page  Jj5. 


THE   FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

PART  VH 

Domestic  and  Imported  Furniture 

FROM     1776    TO     1830 

P    O     ff^  the  outbreak  of  the  Revokition,  the  home 
^^'^^^^h     of  a  wealthy  American  lost  nothing  in  com- 

Aparison  with  that  of  an  Englishman  in  sim- 
I  ilar  circumstances.  Imported  and  home- 
^'  made  furniture  of  the  Chippendale  school 
^*^Sl*^^^  Yvaj^  all  the  rage,  and  the  extent  to  which 
the  latest  foreign  fashions  were  welcomed  may  he  gathered 
from  the  protests  of  the  day.  Serious  attempts  were  made 
to  curtail  importations  which  were  said  to  be  ruining  na- 
tive industry.  In  the  North,  simplicity  was  more  marked 
than  in  the  South  ;  but,  even  in  New  England,  fashion  and 
elegance  were  found  in  many  households,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen.  There,  however,  magnificence  sometimes 
aroused  unfavourable  comment.  In  1774,  John  Adams 
notes:  "John  Lowell,  at  Newburyport,  has  built  himself  a 
house   like  the   palace  of  a  nobleman,  and  lives  in  great 

4«7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

splendour."  Mr.  Adams  was  one  of  those  who  were  hostile 
to  anything  of  that  kind.  In  1778,  commenting  upon  the 
splendour  of  French  life,  he  says : 

"  I  cannot  help  suspecting  that  the  more  elegance,  the 
less  virtue,  in  all  times  and  countries.  Yet  I  fear  that  even 
my  own  dear  country  wants  the  power  and  opportunity 
more  than  the  inclination  to  be  elegant,  soft  and  luxuri- 
ous. .  .  .  Luxury  has  as  many  and  as  bewitching  charms  on 
your  side  of  the  ocean  as  on  this ;  and  luxury  wherever  she 
goes,  effaces  from  human  nature  the  image  of  the  Divinity. 
If  I  had  power,  I  would  forever  banish  and  exclude  from 
America  all  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  alabaster,  marble, 
silk,  velvet  and  lace." 

The  difference  between  the  North  and  South  impressed 
every  traveller.  It  was  striking.  The  life  of  the  South- 
ern planter  was  one  of  ease  and  elegance;  and  conditions 
differed  slightly  in  Maryland,  Virginia  and  South  Carolina. 
The  centres  of  fashion  were  Annapolis,  Williamsburg  and 
Charleston, — gay  and  pleasure-loving  towns.  The  capital 
of  Maryland  reached  its  height  of  splendour  a  few  years 
before  the  Revolution,  and  this  did  not  diminish  until  sev- 
eral years  after  the  war  had  ceased.  The  presence  of  many 
Englishmen  on  official  missions,  with  their  retinues  and 
families,  brought  fashion,  affluence  and  gaiety  to  the  colo- 
nial capital.  The  houses  were  renowned  for  their  costly 
and  beautiful  furniture,  their  well-arranged  and  cultivated 
grounds,  and  their  lavish  hospitality.  Eddis,  an  English 
traveller,  who  wrote  his  experiences  in  1 769-1 777,  re- 
marks :  "  Whatever  you  have  heard  relative  to  the  rigid 
Puritanical  principles  and  economical  habits  of  our  Ameri- 
can brethren,  is  by  no  means  true  when  applied  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Southern   provinces.      Liberality  of  senti- 

488 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ment,  and  genuine  hospitality  are  everywhere  prevalent ; 
and  I  am  persuaded  they  too  frequently  mistake  profuseness 
for  generosity,  and  impair  their  health  and  their  fortunes 
by  splendour  of  appearance  and  magnificence  of  entertain- 


FRENCH  CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mr.  Robert  Colby,  New  York,  N.  Y.     See  page  538. 


ment.**  He  mentions,  particularly,  among  the  beautiful 
villas  in  the  vicinity  of  Annapolis,  Rousby  Hall  in  Calvert 
County,  about  seventy  miles  from  the  town,  as  being  "  as 
well-known  to  the  weary,  indigent  traveller  as  to  the  afflu- 
ent guest,**  and  adds :  "  In  a  country  where  hospitality  is 
the  distinguishing  feature,  the  benevolent  owner  has  estab- 

4S9 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

lished  a  preeminence,  which  places  his  character  in  an  ex- 
alted point  of  view." 

The  Abbe  Robin,  who  accompanied  Count  Rocham- 
beau  as  chaplain  to  America,  is  another  witness  of  the  con- 
trast between  North  and  South.  In  178  i,  he  writes  in  his 
Nouveau  Voyage  dans  r  Amerique  Septentrionale : 

**  As  we  advance  towards  the  South,  we  find  a  very 
sensible  difference  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  peo- 
ple. In  Connecticut  the  houses  are  placed  on  the  public 
roads  at  small  intervals,  and  barely  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate a  single  family,  and  are  furnished  in  the  most  plain 
and  simple  manner  ;  but  here  are  spacious,  isolated  habita- 
tions, consisting  of  several  edifices,  built  in  the  centre  of  a 
plantation,  and  so  remote  from  the  public  road  as  to  be 
lost  to  the  view  of  travellers.  These  plantations  are  culti- 
vated by  negroes,  .  .  .  The  furniture  of  the  houses  here 
is  of  the  most  costly  wood  and  the  rarest  marble,  enriched 
and  decorated  by  artists  ;  they  have  light  and  elegant  car- 
riages, which  are  drawn  by  fine  horses ;  the  coachmen  are 
slaves  and  are  richly  dressed.  There  appears  to  be  more 
wealth  and  luxury  in  Annapolis  than  in  any  other  city 
which  I  have  visited  in  this  country.  The  extravagance  of 
the  women  here  surpasses  that  of  our  own  provinces;  a 
French  hairdresser  is  a  man  of  great  importance ;  one  lady 
here  pays  to  her  coiffeur  a  salary  of  a  thousand  crowns. 
This  little  city,  which  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Severn  river, 
contains  several  hand.some  edifices.  The  state-house  is  the 
finest  in  the  country  ;  its  front  is  ornamented  with  columns, 
and  the  building  surmounted  by  a  dome.  There  is  also  a 
theatre  here.  Annapolis  is  a  place  of  considerable  shipping. 
The  climate  is  the  most  delightful  in  the  world." 

A  corner  cupboard  from  Maryland,  probably  the  work 

490 


MARYLAND  CHINA  CABINET 
Orcned  by  Mrs.  Gforge  Ben  Johnston,  Richmond,  I'a.     Set  page  491. 


o 
o 

oi 

c 
< 

O 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   PX)REFATHERS 

of  a  native  cabinet-maker,  faces  page  490.  It  is  of  ma- 
hogany inlaid  with  satin-wood,  a  species  of  the  bell-flower 
appearing  on  the  legs.  The  panels  of  the  doors  are  formed 
of  some   light  mottled  wood,  which  also  frames  the  glass 


MAHOGANY  DESK 
Owned  by  Protdent  Madiion }  now  by  Mn.  George  Ben  Juhntton,  Richmond,  Virginia.    See  page  521. 


panes.  The  urns  ornamenting  the  top  are  bronze  and  gilt. 
This  curious  three-cornered  china  cabinet,  or  cupboard,  is 
owned  by  Mrs.  George  Ben  Johnston,  Richmond,  Va.,  and 
is  filled  with  handsome  china  and  glass  of  the  period. 

When   we   find  a  writer  impressed  with  conditions  of 

49« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

elegance,  we  naturally  hesitate  to  accept  his  estimate  until 
we  know  whether  his  experience  has  qualified  him  to 
judge.  When,  therefore,  we  find  the  Duke  de  la  Roche- 
foucauld-Liancourt  speaking  with  approval  of  a  typical 
Southern  home,  we  are  satisfied  that  the  travellers  already 
quoted  did  not  greatly  exaggerate.  Of  Whitehall,  the  home 
of  Governor  Sharp,  the  Duke  says  in  his  Voyage  dans  les 
Etats-Unis  (1795-97),  that  this  was  "a  most  delightful 
retreat  about  seven  miles  distant  (from  Annapolis)  ;  his 
house  is  on  a  large  scale,  the  design  is  excellent,  and  the 
apartments  well  fitted  up  and  perfectly  convenient."  Else- 
where he  says : 

"  In  a  country  which  has  belonged  to  England  for  a 
long  time,  of  which  the  most  numerous  and  nearest  con- 
nections are  yet  with  England,  and  which  carries  on  with 
England  almost  all  of  its  commerce,  the  manners  of  the 
people  must  necessarily  resemble,  in  a  great  degree,  those 
of  England.  As  for  American  manners  particularly,  those 
relative  to  living  are  the  same  as  in  the  provinces  of  Eng- 
land. As  to  the  dress,  the  English  fashions  are  as  faith- 
fully copied  as  the  sending  of  merchandise  from  England 
and  the  tradition  of  tailors  and  mantua-makers  will  admit 
of.  The  distribution  of  the  apartments  in  their  houses  is 
like  that  of  England,  the  furniture  is  English,  the  town 
carriages  are  either  English  or  in  the  English  taste  ;  and  it 
is  no  small  merit  among  the  fashionable  world  to  have  a 
coach  newly  arrived  from  London  and  of  the  newest 
fashion." 

Eddis  also  writes : 

"The  quick  importation  of  fashions  from  the  mother 
country  is  really  astonishing.  I  am  almost  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  a  new  fashion  is  adopted  earlier  by  the  polished 

492 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  affluent  American,  than  by  many  opulent  persons  in 
the  great  metropolis ;  nor  are  opportunities  wanting  to  dis- 
play superior  elegance.  We  have  varied  amusements  and 
numerous  parties,  which  afford  to  the  young,  the  gay,  and 
the  ambitious,  an  extensive  field  to  contend  in  the  race  of 
vain  and  idle  competition.      In  short,  very  little  difference 


FRENCH    SOFA    AND    CHAIR 
Owned  by  Mrt.  Charies  Cotnworth  Pinckney,  Charlestun,  S.  C.     See  page  538. 

is,  in  reality,  observable  in  the  manners  of  the  wealthy 
colonist  and  the  wealthy  Briton.  Good  and  bad  habits 
prevail  on  both  sides  the  Atlantic." 

We  not  only  find  unprejudiced  foreign  travellers  extol- 
ing  the  wealth,  hospitality  and  elegances  of  living,  but 
visitors  from  the  Northern  States  never  failed  to  be  im- 
pressed with  what  thev  saw  and  the  treatment  they  re- 
ceived. Occasionally  they  record  their  experiences.  For 
example,  Josiah  C^iincy,  of  Massachusetts,  who  visited 
Charleston  in  1773,  writes:  "This  town  makes  a  most 
beautiful  appearance  as  you  come  up  to  it,  and  in  many 
aspects  a  magnificent  one.  Although  I  have  not  been 
here  twenty  hours,  I  have  traversed  the  most  populous  parts 

493 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  it.  I  can  only  say  in  general,  that  in  grandeur,  splen- 
dour of  building,  decorations,  equipages,  numbers,  com- 
merce, shipping,  and  indeed  in  almost  everything  it  far  sur- 
passes all  I   ever  saw  or  ever  expected  to  see  in  America." 

On  March  8th  he  was  entertained  at  a  house  that  is 
still  standing,  the  drawing-room  of  which  appears  facing 
this  page.      He  writes : 

"March  8  (1773).  Dined  with  a  large  company  at 
Miles  Brewton's,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  very  large  fortune; 
a  superb  house  said  to  have  cost  him  ^^8,000  sterling.  A 
most  elegant  table,  three  courses,  etc.,  etc.  At  Mr.  Brew- 
ton's  sideboard  was  very  magnificent  plate.  A  very  fine 
bird  kept  familiarly  playing  about  the  room  under  our 
chairs  and  the  table,  picking  up  the  crumbs  and  perching 
on  the  window  and  sideboard." 

This  fine  brick  house  on  King  Street,  with  its  generous 
doorway  and  double  flight  of  marble  steps,  was  built  by  the 
above  mentioned  Miles  Brewton,  an  Englishman  who  came 
to  Charleston  early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1775, 
he  left  Charleston  for  England  intending  to  leave  his  fam- 
ily there  and  return  to  America,  as  he  was  an  ardent  Revo- 
lutionist. The  vessel  was  wrecked  and  not  a  passenger 
saved.  The  house  became  the  property  of  his  married 
daughter,  Rebecca  (Mrs.  Jacob  Motte),  who  dwelt  here 
with  her  daughters  until  the  British  entered  the  city.  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  and  his  officers  occupied  it  in  1781—82,  and 
Mrs.  Motte  retired  to  her  plantation  on  the  Congaree,  near 
Columbia. 

The  home  of  Miles  Brewton,  now  known  as  the  Prin- 
gle  House,  is  owned  by  his  descendant.  Miss  Susan  Pringle. 
It  is  an  excellent  example  of  a  typical  Charleston  home  ol 
the  eighteenth  century.      Upon  the  walls  of  the  drawing- 

494 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

room,  facing  page  494,  is  a  portrait  of  Miles  Brewton  by 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  The  large  mirror  between  the  win- 
dows dates  from  an  early  period,  and  has  never  been  in- 
flicted with  a  new  glass.  The  frame  is  richly  carved  and 
gilt.  The  windows  are  draped  in  the  old-fashioned  style 
with  curtains  of  daflx)dil-coloured  damask  that  have  hung 
in  the  same  spot  since  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  Much 
of  the  furniture  in  this  enormous  room  is  of  the  Heppel- 
white  and  Sheraton  period.  A  stufl^ed  Heppelwhite  arm- 
chair stands  directly  in  front  of  the  mirror.  It,  like  the 
others  of  its  type  in  the  same  room,  is  covered  with  crim- 
son damask,  which  was  so  fashionable  in  its  day.  One  of 
this  set  decorated  with  fringe  has  already  appeared  on  page 
45 1 .  The  armchair  on  its  left,  which  is  one  of  another 
set,  is  covered  with  yellow  damask ;  while  others  are  up- 
holstered with  flowered  material  like  the  sofa  that  is  cosily 
placed  near  the  open  Are.  Other  sofas  in  the  room  are 
covered  with  yellow  damask.  The  two  carved  chairs  stand- 
ing on  either  side  of  the  table,  which,  like  all  the  rest  of 
the  furniture,  is  of  mahogany,  belonged  to  Louis  Philippe. 
The  room  is  of  beautiful  proportions,  and  the  woodwork 
is  particularly  fine.  The  marble  mantelpiece  is  very  ornate 
and  handsome ;  but,  perhaps  the  mOvSt  noticeable  feature  of 
the  room  is  the  superb  crystal  chandelier,  consisting  of 
twenty-four  sconces,  each  furnished  with  a  glass  shade  more 
than  a  foot  in  height.  Fortunately,  it  has  never  been  al- 
tered for  gas  or  electricity,  and  the  candles  still  shed  their 
soft  glow  upon  the  room,  and  cause  the  enormous  giron- 
delles  in  chains  and  pendants  to  sparkle  with  prismatic 
hues.  Only  a  portion  of  this  candelabrum  appears,  as  it  is 
built  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid. 

A  much  more  notable  visitor  to  Charleston  was  Gcn- 

♦95 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

eral  Washington,  who  was  entertained  in  a  house  on 
Church  Street,  near  Tradd,  owned  by  Judge  Heyward,  and 
which  was  "superbly  furnished  for  the  occasion."  Two 
extracts  from  General  Washington's  Diary  will  be  sufficient 
to  show  what  his  impressions  were: 

May  5,  1790.  "  Dined  with  a  very  large  company  at 
the  Governor's  and  in  the  evening  went  to  a  Concert  at 
the  Exchange  at  which  there  were  at  least  four  hundred 
ladies,  the  number  and  appearance  of  which  exceeded  any- 
thing of  the  kind  I  had  ever  seen." 

May  7,  1 790.  •*  Charleston  contains  about  i  ,600 
dwelling-houses.  ...  It  lies  low  with  unpaved  streets  (ex- 
cept the  footways)  of  sand.  There  are  a  number  of  very 
good  houses  of  Brick  and  wood,  but  most  of  the  latter. — 
The  Inhabitants  are  wealthy — gay — and  hospitable;  appear 
happy  and  satistied   with  the  General  Government." 

Washington  also  speaks  of  Captain  Alston  as  a  gentle- 
man of  large  fortune  whose  **  house  which  is  large,  new, 
and  elegantly  furnished,  stands  on  a  sand-hill  high  for  the 
Country,  and  his  Rice  fields  below." 

It  would  seem  that  some  of  the  Virginian  houses  were 
splendid  while  others  were  neglected  and  falling  into  de- 
cay. The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld- Liancourt  says  that 
the  Virginians  spend  more  than  their  income.  "  You 
find,  therefore,  very  frequently  a  table  well  served  and 
covered  with  plate  in  a  room  where  half  the  windows 
have  been  broken  for  years  past,  and  will  probably  be  so 
ten  years  longer.  But  few  houses  are  in  tolerable  state  of 
repair." 

The  Marquis  de  Chastellux  also  testifies  :  "  The  Vir- 
ginians have  the  reputation,  and  with  reason,  of  living 
nobly  in   their  homes  and  of  being  hospitable;  they  give 

496 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

strangers  not  only  a  willing,  but  a  liberal  reception.  This 
arises,  on  one  hand,  from  their  having  no  large  towns 
where  they  may  assemble,  by  which  means  they  are  little 
acquainted  with  society  except  from  the  visits  they  make  ; 
and,  on  the  other,  their  lands  and  their  negroes  furnishing 
them  with  every  article  of  consumption  and  the  necessary 
service,  the  renowned  hospitality  costs  them  very  little. 
Their  houses  are  spacious  and  ornamented,  but  their  apart- 
ments are  not  commodious  ;  they  make  no  ceremony  of 
putting  three  or  four  persons  into  the  same  room ;  nor  do 
these  make  any  objection  to  their  being  thus  heaped  to- 
gether ;  for  being  in  general  ignorant  of  the  comfort  of 
reading  and  writing,  they  want  nothing  in  their  whole 
house  but  a  bed,  a  dining-room,  and  a  drawing-room  for 
company.  The  chief  magnificence  of  the  Virginians  con- 
sists in  furniture,  linen  and  plate  ;  in  which  they  resemble 
our  ancestors,  who  had  neither  cabinets  nor  wardrobes  in 
their  castles,  but  contented  themselves  with  a  well-stored 
cellar  and  a  handsome  buffet." 

The  Marquis  visited  IVestover  and  highly  praised  it. 

"  We  travelled  six  and  twenty  miles  without  halting,  in 
very  hot  weather,  but  by  a  very  agreeable  road,  with  mag- 
nificent houses  in  view  at  every  instant ;  for  the  banks  of 
the  James  River  form  the  garden  of  Virginia.  That  of 
Mrs.  Byrd,  to  which  I  was  going,  surpasses  them  all  in  the 
magnificence  of  the  buildings,  the  beauty  of  its  situation, 
and  the  pleasures  of  society." 

**  .  .  .  Mr.  Mead's  house  is  by  no  means  so  handsome  as 
IVestover^  but  it  is  extremely  well  fitted  up  within,  and 
stands  on  a  charming  situation  ;  for  it  is  directly  opposite 
to  Mrs.  Byrd's,  which  with  its  surrounding  appendages,  has 
the  appearance  of  a  small   town  and  forms  a  most  delight- 

497 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ful  prospect.      Mr.  Mead's  garden,  like  that  of  Westover^  is 
in  the  nature  of  a  terrace  on  the  bank  of  the  river." 

In  1779,  another  traveller,  Anburey,  spent  a  few  days 
with  Colonel  Randolph  at  Tuckahoey  and  says  that,  the 
house  seems  to  have  been  built  for  the  sole  purpose  of  hos- 
pitality, and  it  is  therefore  worth  describing. 


MAHOGANY    SIDEBOARD 
Owned  by  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester,  Mass.     See  page  536. 


"  It  is  in  the  form  of  an  H;  and  has  the  appearance  of 
two  houses  joined  by  a  large  saloon  ;  each  wing  has  two 
stories,  and  four  large  rooms  on  a  floor  ;  in  one  the  family 
reside,  and  the  other  is  reserved  solely  for  visitors  ;  the  saloon 
that  unites  them  is  of  considerable  magnitude,  and  on  each 
side  are  doors;  the  ceiling  is  lofty,  and  to  these  they  prin- 
cipally retire  in  the  summer,  being  but  little  incommoded 
by  the  sun,  and  by  the  doors  of  each  of  the  houses  and 
those  of  the  saloon  being  open,  there  is  a  constant  circula- 
tion of  air;   they   are  furnished  with  four  sophas,  two  on 

49S 


MIRROR,  CHAIR,  SPINNING-WHEEL   AND    BRONZE   AND 
GILT   CANDELABRA 

Onxined  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  IfiUiam  L.  Royall,  Richmond,  Va.      See  page  4gg. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

each  side,  besides  chairs,  and  in  the  centre  there  is  gener- 
ally a  chandelier  ;  these  saloons  answer  the  two  purposes  of 
a  cool  retreat  from  the  scorching  and  sultry  heat  of  the 
climate,  and  of  an  occasional  ball-room.  The  outhouses 
are  attached  at  some  distance,  that  the  house  may  be  open 
to  the  air  on  all  sides." 

Belvoir  is  of  special  interest,  on  account  of  the  ties  be- 
tween its  owner  and  the  master  of  Mount  Vemoti.  The 
former  was  William  Fairfax,  whose  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Lawrence  Washington.  Young  George  Washington 
spent  much  of  his  time  at  Belvoir  and  after  he  became  the 
proprietor  of  Mount  Vernon^  the  happy  relations  still  con- 
tinued with  his  neighbours.  The  contents  oi  Belvoir  were 
sold  by  auction  in  1774,  on  which  occasion  Washington 
bought  articles  of  furniture  to  the  value  of  ^^169-1 2-6,  and 
has  left  a  list  of  them  in  his  own  handwriting. 

A  typical  convex  mirror  of  the  period  is  shown  in  the 
illustration  facing  page  500,  showing  a  corner  of  a  room 
in  the  home  of  Mrs.  William  L.  Royall,  Richmond,  Va. 
This  mirror,  which  is  one  of  a  pair,  is  exceedingly  hand- 
some. The  carving  of  the  dolphins  and  the  burning  torch 
is  well  executed.  The  entire  frame  and  the  sconces  are 
gilt,  and  a  band  of  black  just  below  the  large  balls  lends 
relief.  These  mirrors  were  the  property  of  the  Coles  fam- 
ily of  Virginia,  and  were  long  in  the  house  of  John  Ruth- 
erfoord.  Governor  of  Virginia,  who  married  Emily  Coles, 
and  were  inherited  by  their  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Royall, 
the  present  owner. 

The  Gothic  chair  in  the  same  picture  belonged  to  the 
Rutherfoords;  the  spinning-wheel  was  owned  by  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor, the  sister  of  Chief-Justice  Marshall  of  Virginia,  and 
descended  to  her  grandson.  Dr.  William  L.  Royall;  while 

499 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  candelabra  of  bronze  and  gold,  representing  Victory 
holding  sconces  in  the  shape  of  trumpets,  were  imported 
into  the  country  by  Andrew  Stevenson,  minister  to  the 
Court  of  Saint  James,  and  descended  by  inheritance 
to  Mrs.  Royall.  The  only  other  similar  pair  in  the 
country  are  at  the  White  House,  in  Washington. 

Belvoir  was  of  brick  and  two  stories  high,  with  four 
rooms  on  the  ground  floor  and  five  on  the  second,  and  ser*/- 
ants*  hall  and  cellar  below.  It  was  almost  entirely  fur- 
nished with  valuable  mahogany  articles. 

The  "  Dining-Room  "  contained  a  mahogany  five-foot 
sideboard  table ;  one  pair  mahogany  square  card  tables ; 
an  oval  bottle  cistern  on  a  frame  ;  a  "  sconce  glass  gilt  in 
Burnished  Gold" ;  twelve  mahogany  chairs;  three  crim- 
son morine  drapery  window  curtains  ;  a  large  Wilton  Per- 
sian carpet;  and  a  "scallopt  mahogany  voider,"  a  knife  tray, 
two  dish  trays,  a  "large  mahogany  cut  rim  tea  tray,"  tongs, 
shovel,  dogs  and  fender,  comprised  the  list  of  small  articles. 
In  the  parlour  was  a  mahogany  table  (dining) ;  a  "  mahog- 
any spider  leg  table";  "a  folding  fire  screen  lined  with 
yellow";  two  mahogany  armchairs  covered  with  figured 
hair ;  a  chimney-glass ;  two  Saxon  green  plain  drapery 
curtains ;  and  dogs,  tongs,  shovel  and  fender.  In  Mrs. 
Fairfax's  Chamber :  a  mahogany  chest  of  drawers ;  a  bed- 
stead and  curtains ;  window  curtains ;  four  chairs ;  a  dressing 
table  ;  and  hearth  furniture.  In  Colonel  Fairfax's  Room  : 
•1  mahogany  settee  bedstead  with  Saxon  green  covers ;  a 
mahogany  desk  ;  a  mahogany  shaving-table ;  four  chairs 
and  covers ;  a  mahogany  Pembroke  table ;  dogs,  shovel, 
tongs  and  fender. 

Of  all  the  colonial  houses  now  standing,  Mount  Vernon 
is  the  most  interesting,  on  account  of  its  associations.     /* 

500 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

was  built  in  1743,  by  Lawrence  Washington,  when  he 
married  Miss  Fairfax.  Soon  after  his  death  in  1751, 
Mount  Kenton  passed  by  inheritance  to  his  half-brother, 
George  Washington,  and  here  the  latter  brought  his  bride 


ELEANOR    CUSTIS  S    HARPSICHORD    AND    TAMBOUR    FRAME 
Now  at  Mount  yernon,  Va.      Sec  page  502. 

in  1759.  Six  years  after  Washington  came  into  possession 
of  Mount  Fernonj  he  evidently  thought  his  furniture  needed 
repairing. 

In  1757,  he  wrote  to  Richard  Washington:  **  Be 
pleased,  over  and  above  what  I  have  wrote  for  in  a  letter 
of  the  1  3th  of  April,  to  send  me  i  doz.  strong  chairs,  of 
about  1  5  shillings  apiece,  the  bottoms  exactly  made  by  the 
enclosed  dimensions,  and  of  three  different  colours  to  suit 
the  paper  of  three  of  the  bed-chambers  also  wrote  for  in 
my  last.     I  must  acquaint  you,  sir,  with  the  reason  of  the 

501 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

request.  I  have  one  dozen  chairs  that  were  made  in  this 
country ;  neat,  but  too  weak  for  common  sitting.  I  there- 
fore propose  to  take  the  bottoms  out  of  those  and  put 
them  into  those  now  ordered,  while  the  bottoms  which 
you  send  will  do  for  the  former,  and  furnish  the  chambers. 
For  this  reason  the  workmen  must  be  very  exact,  neither 
making  the  bottoms  larger  nor  smaller  than  the  dimen- 
sions, otherwise  the  change  can't  be  made.  Be  kind 
enough  to  give  directions  that  these  chairs,  equally  with 
the  others  and  the  tables,  be  carefully  packed  and  stowed. 
Without  this  caution,  they  are  liable  to  infinite  damage." 

In  1759,  he  again  writes  to  London  for  "2  more  chair 
bottoms,  and  i  more  Window  Curtain  and  Cornice." 

He  also  sent  for  busts  of  Alexander  the  Great,  Julius 
Caesar,  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  "not 
to  exceed  fifteen  inches  in  height,  nor  ten  in  width,"  "  2 
other  busts  of  Prince  Eugene  and  the  Duke  of  Marlbor- 
ough, somewhat  smaller,  2  Wild  Beasts,  not  to  exceed 
twelve  inches  in  height,  nor  eighteen  in  length.  Sundry 
ornaments  for  chimney-piece." 

In  1 76 1,  he  sends  to  London,  to  Mr.  Plinius,  harpsi- 
chord-maker, in  South  Audley  Street,  Grosvenor  Square, 
for  a  good  instrument.  He  also  gave  a  harpsichord  to 
Eleanor  Custis,  his  stepdaughter,  for  a  wedding-present. 
This  interesting  instrument,  which  appears  on  page  501, 
has  again  found  its  place  at  Mount  Vernon^  and  stands  in 
the  room  known  as  "  Miss  Custis's  Music  Room."  The 
mahogany  stool  in  front  of  the  harpsichord  is  somewhat 
clumsy,  and  the  carved  dolphins  forming  the  legs  contrib- 
ute its  one  interesting  feature.  This  also  belonged  to  Miss 
Custis,  as  did  the  tambour  frame.  Upon  this  is  a  piece 
of  her  unfinished  embroidery. 

50Z 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

When  Washington  arrived  in  New  York,  he  first  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  house  provided  by  Congress.  This 
was  No.  3  Cherry  Street  and  PVanklin  Square,  and  the 
rooms  were  large  and  numerous.  Mr.  Osgood  had  been 
requested  by  a  Resolution  to  put  the  house  and  the  furni- 
ture thereof  into  proper  condition  for  the  residence  and 
use  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  According  to 
an  eye-witness,  the  furniture  was  extremely  plain,  but  in 
keeping  and  well  disposed,  and  arranged  so  as  to  give  prom- 
ise of  substantial  comfort.  Mrs.  Washington  had  sent  by 
sea  from  Mount  Vernon  many  ornaments  and  other  articles, 
including  pictures,  vases,  etc.,  that  they  liked  to  have,  on 
account  of  associations.  The  rooms  of  Mount  Vernon  were 
full  of  souvenirs  and  offerings  by  many  admirers.  These 
included  not  only  pictures  and  busts,  but  various  relics, 
such  as  the  key  of  the  Bastille  (presented  by  Lafayette  in 
1 789),  swords  and  other  arms,  and  even  furniture.  Among 
others,  Samuel  Vaughan,  an  English  admirer,  sent  to 
Washington  in  1785,  a  magnificent  marble  mantelpiece, 
specially  made  in  Italy,  and  three  handsome  porcelain 
vases.  The  mantelpiece  still  stands  in  the  **  Banquet 
Hall."  Another  interesting  object  is  a  carpet  that  now 
covers  the  fioor  of  the  West  parlour  in  Mount  Vernon. 
This  carpet  was  made  for  Washington  by  order  of  Louis 
XVI.,  at  the  Gobelins  manufactory,  and  is  shown  facing 
page  520.  It  afterwards  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Hon.  Jasper  Yeates,  of  Lancaster,  Pa.  It  remained  on  his 
parlour  fioor  during  his  lifetime,  and  until  about  the  middle 
of  the  present  century,  when  his  daughters  had  possession 
of  the  house.  When  the  establishment  was  broken  up, 
the  carpet  was  offered  for  sale.  This  time  it  was  pur- 
chased by  his  great-granddaughter,  Mrs.  Sarah  Y.  Whelen,  of 

5°  J 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Philadelphia,  and  by  her  presented  to  the  Mount  Vernon 
Association. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  carpet  contains  the  heraldic 
arms  of  the  new  Federal  Government,  being  sown  with 
stars  and  bearing  a  central  medallion  of  the  eagle  holding 
an  olive  branch  and  the  arrows  in  its  two  claws,  while  be- 
low and  above  the  bird  are  the  stars  and  stripes.  In  front 
of  the  mantelpiece  stands  a  chair  of  the  Louis  Seize  type 
that  was  presented  to  General  Washington  by  Lafayette. 
On  either  side  of  it  are  two  excellent  examples  of  "  Chip- 
pendale" chairs, — mahogany,  of  course,  and  in  reality  devel- 
opments of  the  old  four-back  chair  that  persistently  outlives 
all  fashions  and  styles.  (See  page  87.)  The  mantelpiece, 
ceiling  and  wall-panels  of  this  room  date  from  1743,  and 
above  the  mantelpiece  is  carved  the  Washington  coat-of- 
arms.  George  Washington's  initials  and  his  crest  are  cast 
in  the  iron  firebacks.  The  painting  of  the  panel  inserted 
into  the  mantelpiece  is  said  to  represent  Admiral  Vernon's 
fleet  at  Cartagena,  and  was  sent  to  Lawrence  Washington 
as  a  present  from  Admiral  Vernon  when  he  learned  that 
the  estate  was  named  for  him.  Lawrence  Washington 
owned  2,500  acres,  but  General  Washington  increased  the 
property  to  nearly  8,000.  He  also  enlarged  the  house, 
which  is  built  of  stone  and  brick,  with  a  framework  of 
oak. 

Mount  Vernon,  although  in  no  sense  palatial,  was  com- 
fortable throughout.  The  "  New  Roc  "^ "  was  furnished 
handsomely.  There  were  two  sideboaroa  here,  adorned 
with  six  mahogany  knife-cases,  China  images,  and  a  China 
flower-pot;  two  candle-stands,  two  fire-screens,  two  stools, 
two  large  looking-glasses  and  twenty-seven  mahogany 
chairs  comprised  the  wooden  furniture.  The  window- 
so* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

curtains  were  valuable,  as  were  also  **two  elegant  lustres." 
Two  silver-plated  lamps  contributed  additional  light,  the 
floor  was  covered  with  a  good  mat,  and  among  the  orna- 
ments were  Ave  China  jars.  The  hearth-furniture  was  com- 
plete, and  pictures  and  prints  worth  $973  adorned  the  walls. 


CHAIR    FROM    MOUNT    VERNON    AND    PAINTHI)    ROSEWOOD    CARD- 
TABLE    FROM    PRESTWOUI.D 
Now  owned  by  the  Valentine  Museum,  Richmond,  Va.     See  page  515. 


The  "Front  Parlour"  contained  an  expensive  sofa  and 
eleven  mahogany  chairs.  The  rest  of  the  furniture  con- 
sisted of  a  rich  looking-glass  and  a  tea-table.  A  handsome 
carpet  and  window-curtains  gave  an  air  of  comfort,  and 
the  logs  rested  on  bright  andirons.  Three  lamps,  two 
with  mirrors,  were  not  only  for  light,  but  were  probably 
as  ornamental  as  the  five  China  flower-pots.  There  were 
many  pictures  on  the  walls. 

505 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

A  looking-glass,  a  tea-table,  a  settee,  ten  Windsor 
chairs,  a  carpet,  window-curtains,  andirons,  tongs  and  fen- 
der and  pictures  made  the  "little  Parlour"  comfortable. 

There  were  two  dining-tables  and  a  tea-table  in  the 
**  Dining-Room,"  a  mahogany  sideboard,  two  knife-cases 
and  a  large  case,  an  oval  looking-glass  and  ten  mahogany 
chairs.  Here  we  find  a  carpet  and  window-curtains  and 
the  usual  hearth  furniture  and  pictures. 

In  the  "Bedroom,"  there  is,  of  course,  a  bed,  bedstead 
and  mattress,  a  looking-glass,  a  small  table,  four  mahogany 
or  walnut  chairs,  window  curtains  and  blinds,  a  carpet, 
andirons,  etc.,  and  one  large  picture. 

In  the  "  Passage,"  there  are  fourteen  mahogany  chairs, 
four  images  over  the  door,  a  spy-glass,  a  thermometer  and 
pictures. 

In  the  "Closet,"  we  find  a  fire-screen,  and  "a  machine 
to  scrape  shoes  on";  and  on  the  Verandah  or  "Piazza" 
there  are  thirty  Windsor  chairs. 

A  great  number  of  prints  are  hung  along  the  staircase, 
and  a  looking-glass  is  found  in  the  passage  on  the  second 
floor. 

Passing  into  the  "  Front  Room,"  we  find  the  carpet 
and  window-curtains  and  open  fire  that  render  every  room 
so  warm  and  comfortable,  a  bed,  bedstead,  and  curtains,  a 
dressing-table,  a  large  looking-glass,  a  wash-basin  and 
pitcher,  and  six  mahogany  chairs.    Prints  decorate  the  walls. 

In  the  "  Second  Room,"  the  bed,  bedstead  and  curtains 
and  window-curtains  are  first  noticeable  ;  the  rest  of  the 
furniture  consists  of  a  looking-glass,  a  dressing-table,  wash- 
basin and  pitcher,  an  armchair  and  four  chairs,  a  carpet, 
and  andirons,  etc.  A  portrait  of  General  Lafayette  hangs 
in  this  room. 

506 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

The  **  Third  Room  "  has,  of  course,  its  carpet,  window- 
curtains  and  andirons,  and  a  very  rine  bedstead,  bed  and 
curtains,  a  chest  of  drawers,  six  mahogany  chairs,  a  look- 
ing-glass and  wash-basin  and  pitcher.  We  also  find  prints 
on  the  walls. 

A  bed,  bedvStead  and  curtains,  carpet  and  window-cur- 
tains, five  mahogany  chairs,  a  pine  dressing-table,  a  large 
looking-glass,  a  close  chair,  wash-basin  and  pitcher,  and- 
irons and  prints  furnish  the  "  Fourth  Room." 

In  the  **  Small  Room,"  we  find  a  bed  and  bedstead,  a 
dressing-table,  a  washstand,  a  dressing-glass  and  three 
Windsor  chairs. 

In  the  "  Room  which  Mrs.  Washington  now  keeps," 
there  are  a  bed,  bedsteads  and  mattress,  an  oval  looking- 
glass,  a  fender,  andirons,  etc.,  a  table,  three  chairs,  and  a 
carpet;  and  in  "  Mrs.  Washington's  old  Room"  we  note 
a  bed,  bedstead  and  curtains,  a  glass,  a  dressing-table,  a 
writing-table  and  a  writing-chair,  an  easy-chair,  two  ma- 
hogany chairs,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  time-piece,  and  pictures. 

The  "Study"  contains  quite  an  odd  assortment  of  fur- 
niture and  articles,  consisting  of  a  bureau,  a  tambour  secre- 
tary, a  walnut  table,  two  pine  writing-tables,  a  writing- 
desk  and  apparatus,  a  circular  chair,  an  armchair,  a  dress- 
ing-table, an  oval  looking-gkvss,  eleven  spy-glasses,  a  case 
of  surveying  instruments,  a  globe,  two  brass  candlesticks, 
seven  swords  and  blades,  four  canes,  seven  guns,  44  lbs.  1 5 
oz.  of  plate  worth  $900,  plated  ware  worth  $424,  and 
many  other  articles. 

The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  furniture  of  Mount 
Vernon  is  the  great  number  of  chairs  in  the  house,  and 
the  number  of  prints  and  pictures.  Altogether  there  were 
139  chairs  worth  ^658. 50.     The  pictures  and  prints  were 

507 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

valued  at  $2,008.25.  The  total  value  of  the  furniture  at 
Mount  Vernon  equalled  $3,420.  As  the  rooms  in  Mount 
Vernon  are  not  by  any  means  large,  they  must  have  been 
very  crowded  with  the  articles  mentioned  above.  Where 
the  clothing  was  kept  is  a  mystery,  as  there  are  no  presses  or 
wardrobes  in  the  inventory,  and  there  are  no  closets  in  the 
house.  Martha  Washington's  trunk,  similar  to  the  cylin- 
drical one  facing  page  224,  is  in  the  Newark  Historical 
Society.  The  size  of  the  trunks  makes  us  wonder,  also, 
how  the  people  of  the  period  carried  their  silks  and  satins, 
wigs  and  furbelows  from  place  to  place. 

A  picture  of  one  side  of  Washington's  bedroom  has  al- 
ready appeared  as  the  frontispiece  to  our  second  chapter  ; 
the  other  side  of  the  same  room  is  shown  facing  this  page. 
Here  we  find  a  comfortable  armchair  of  the  Louis  Seize 
period  ;  a  small  candlestand  with  "  snake  feet  "  and  revolv- 
ing top  ;  a  very  early  chair  of  the  Chippendale  period, 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  simple  square  back  and  plain  jar- 
shaped  unperforated  splat;  a  good  mahogany  library  book- 
case of  the  Chippendale  school ;  a  trunk  that  accompanied 
Washington  on  his  campaigns  ;  and  a  pair  of  simple  brass 
andirons.  All  of  these  pieces  were  used  by  Washington. 
Two  chair  cushions  embroidered  by  Mrs.  Washington  are 
also  preserved  here. 

After  Washington's  death  in  1799,  the  house  remained 
intact  for  some  years,  but  Mrs.  Washington  bequeathed  the 
furniture  to  her  four  grand-children.  Hence  the  house- 
hold articles  and  relics  were  widely  scattered ;  many  pieces 
of  furniture  and  other  treasures  have,  fortunately,  found 
their  way  back,  some  by  gift  and  some  by  purchase,  since 
the  "  Mount  Vernon  Ladies'  Association  of  the  Union  " 
was   organized  in    1856.      The  house  with  200  acres  was 

$08 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

bought  by  this  society  in  1858  from  Mr.  John  A.  Wash- 
ington, Jr.,  and  his  heirs. 

The  house  is  now  a  museum  of  old  furniture  and  relics, 
but  there  are  comparatively  few  of  the  Washington  posses- 
sions here.  Among  the  original  pieces  of  furniture,  we  may 
note:  a  Heppelwhite  sideboard  and  an  iron  hreback  with 
the  Fairfax  coat-of-arms  bought  from  Bchoir,  in  the  **  Din- 
ing-Room";  clock  and  vases,  silver  bracket  lamps,  rose- 
wood flower-stands,  a  looking-glass,  and  an  ornament  for 
the  dining-table  in  the  **  Banquet  Hall  "  ;  a  corner  wash- 
hand  stand  in  "  Mrs.  Washington's  Room  " ;  and  a  num- 
ber of  chairs  that  are  scattered  throughout  the  house.  A 
globe,  curtain  cornices,  and  several  prints  and  engravings 
that  were  originally  in  Mount  Vernon  have  also  been  re- 
turned. 

Washington  was  very  particular  about  his  household 
appointments,  and  was  very  receptive  to  the  newest  fash- 
ions. Soon  after  his  arrival  in  New  York,  he  had  his  silver 
plate  melted  down  and  reproduced  in  what  were  considered 
more  elegant  and  harmonious  forms.  This  was  a  very 
common  practice;  we  have  seen  the  same  thing  done  a 
century  before  this  (see  page  43). 

The  President  occupied  the  house  in  Cherry  Street 
only  nine  months,  as  it  was  not  sufficiently  convenient. 
His  new  house  was  on  Broadway  near  Bowling  Green  :  for 
this  he  paid  what  was  regarded  as  the  extremely  high  rent 
of  $2,500  per  annum.  Entries  in  Washington's  Diary 
show  the  minute  care  he  took  in  household  matters. 

**  Monday,  Feb.  i ,  1 790.  Agreed  on  Saturday  last  to 
take  Mr.  McCombs's  house,  lately  occupied  by  the  Minis- 
ter of  France,  for  one  year  from  and  after  the  first  day  of 
May  next ;  and  would  go  into  it  immediately,  if  Mr.  Otto, 

509 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  present  possessor,  could  be  accommodated ;  and  this 
day  sent  my  Secretary  to  examine  the  rooms  to  see  how  my 
furniture  could  be  adapted  to  the  respective  apartments." 

"  Wednesday,  3d.  Visited  the  apartments  in  the  house 
of  Mr.  McCombs — made  a  disposition  of  the  rooms — 
fixed  on  some  furniture  of  the  Minister's  (which  was  to  be 
sold,  and  was  well  adapted  to  particular  public  rooms) — 
and  directed  additional  stables  to  be  built." 

"Saturday,  13th.  Walked  in  the  forenoon  to  the  house 
to  which  I  am  about  to  remove.  Gave  directions  for  the 
arrangement  of  the  furniture,  etc.,  and  had  some  of  it 
put  up." 

**  Tuesday,  i6th.  Rode  to  my  intended  habitation,  and 
gave  some  directions  respecting  the  arrangement  of  the 
furniture." 

"Saturday,  20th.  Set  seriously  about  removing  my 
furniture  to  my  new  house.  Two  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
family  had  their  beds  taken  there,  and  would  sleep  there 
to-night." 

"  Tuesday,  23rd.  After  dinner,  Mrs.  Washington,  my- 
self and  children  removed,  and  lodged  at  our  new  habita- 
tion." 

"Wednesday,  24th.  Employed  in  arranging  matters 
about  the  house  and  fixing  matters." 

"  Thursday,  25th.      Engaged  as  yesterday." 

One  of  the  pieces  of  furniture  that  Washington  bought 
from  the  French  Minister  was  a  bureau  which  was  after- 
wards an  object  of  special  bequest.  In  his  will  we  read  : 
"To  my  companion  in  arms  and  old  and  intimate  friend, 
Dr.  Craik,  I  give  my  beaureau  (or  as  cabinet-makers  call  it, 
tambour  secretary),  and  the  circular  chair,  an  appendage 
of  my  study." 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Whether  the  large  mahogany  desk  that  appears  on 
this  page  is  the  one  referred  to  above,  we  do  not  know  ;  but 
it  is  certain  that  Washington  used  this  from  1789  to  1797. 


GEORGE  Washington's    desk 

Now  owned  by  the  Hittorical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.      See  thii  page. 


It  is  clumsy  but  very  commodious,  and  the  only  pretence 
to  ornament  is  the  turned  balusters  at  the  top  and  the  bell- 
flower,  which  is  unusually  large  and  ungraceful,  framing 
the  lower  drawers.  This  is  inlaid  in  satin-wood.  Above 
the  lower  drawers  are  two  metal   handles,  which,  when 

5" 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

pulled  forward,  draw  out  a  slab  for  writing,  and  the  cylin- 
drical top  rolls  upward  out  of  sight,  like  the  ordinary  office 
desk  of  to-day.  This  piece  of  furniture  is  now  owned  by 
the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  in  Philadelphia. 

When  the  seat  of  government  removed  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia,  the  President  leased  the  house  that 
had  successively  been  occupied  by  Richard  Penn,  General 
Howe,  Benedict  Arnold,  Holkar,  the  French  consul,  and 
Robert  Morris.  In  his  directions  to  his  secretary,  Washing- 
ton writes  : 

•*  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  have  insisted  upon  leaving  the 
two  large  looking-glasses  which  are  in  their  best  rooms 
because  they  have  no  place,  they  say,  proper  to  remove 
them  to,  and  because  they  are  unwilling  to  hazard  the  tak- 
ing of  them  down.  You  will,  therefore,  let  them  have  in- 
stead, the  choice  of  mine  :  the  large  ones  I  purchased  of 
the  French  minister  they  do  not  incline  to  take,  but  will 
be  glad  of  some  of  the  others.  They  will  also  leave  a 
large  glass  lamp  in  the  entry  or  hall,  and  will  take  one  or 
more  of  my  glass  lamps  in  lieu  of  it.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Morris 
has  a  mangle  *  (I  think  it  is  called)  for  ironing  clothes, 
which,  -^s  it  is  fixed  in  the  place  where  it  is  commonly 
used,  she  proposes  to  leave  and  take  mine.  To  this,  I  have 
no  objection,  provided  mine  is  equally  good  and  conveni- 
ent ;  but  if  I  should  obtain  any  advantages  besides  that  of 
its  being  up  and  ready  for  use,  I  am  not  inclined  to  receive 
it. 


*  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  seven  years  before  this,  a  mangle  had  been  a  novelty  to 
Washington,  An  entry  in  his  ZJ/ary  (September  3,  1787)  reads:  "  Phila. — In  Convention 
.  visited  a  machine  at  Dr.  Franklin's  (called  a  mangle)  for  pressing  in  place  of 
ironing  clothes  from  the  wash — which  machine  from  the  facility  with  which  it  despatches 
business  is  well  calculated  for  tablecloths,  and  such  articles  as  have  not  pleats  and  irregular 
foldings,  and  would  be  very  useful  in  all  large  families/'      He  evidently  bought  one  soon. 

5" 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"  I  have  no  particular  direction  to  give  respecting  the 
appropriation  of  the  furniture.  By  means  of  the  how  win- 
dows the  hack  rooms  will  hecome  the  largest,  and,  of 
course,  will  receive  the  furniture  of  the  largest  dining-  and 
drawing-rooms,  and  in  that  case,  though  there  are  no  clos- 


CHAIR  FROM  WASHINGTON'S  PRESIDENTIAL  MANSION,  PHILADELPHIA 
Now  owned  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Phibdelphia,  Pennsylvania.     See  page  j  14-1 5. 


cts  in  them,  there  are  some  in  the  steward's  room,  directly 
opposite,  which  are  not  inconvenient.  There  is  a  small 
room  adjoining  the  kitchen,  that  might,  if  it  is  not  essen- 
tial for  other  purposes,  he  appropriated  for  the  Sevres  china, 
and  other  things  of  that  sort,  which  are  not  in  common 
use.  Mrs.  Morris,  who  is  a  notahle  lady  in  family  arrange- 
ments, can  give  you  much  information  on  all  the  conveni- 
ences about  the  house  and  buildings,  and  I  dare  say  would 


sn 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

rather  consider  it  a  compliment  to  be  consulted  in  those 
matters,  than  a  trouble  to  give  her  opinion  of  them. 

**  I  approve,  at  least  till  inconvenience  or  danger  shall 
appear,  of  the  large  table  ornaments  remaining  on  the  side- 
board, and  of  the  pagodas  standing  in  the  smallest  drawing- 
room.  Had  I  delivered  my  sentiments  from  here  respect- 
ing this  fixture,  that  is  the  apartment  I  should  have  named 
for  it.  Whether  the  green,  which  you  have,  or  a  new  yellow 
curtain,  should  be  appropriated  to  the  staircase  above  the 
hall,  may  depend  on  your  getting  an  exact  match,  in  colour, 
and  so  forth  of  the  latter.  For  the  sake  of  appearances 
one.  would  not  in  instances  of  this  kind,  regard  a  small 
additional  expense.'* 

An  account  of  a  visit  to  this  house  is  given  by  Thomas 
Twining,  who  writes  : 

"  At  one  o'clock  to-day  I  called  at  General  Washing- 
ton's with  the  picture  and  letter  I  had  for  him.  He  lived 
in  a  small  red  brick  house  on  the  left  side  of  High  Street, 
not  much  higher  up  than  Fourth  Street.  There  was  noth- 
ing in  the  exterior  of  the  house  that  denoted  the  rank 
of  its  possessor.  Next  door  was  a  hair-dresser.  Having 
stated  my  object  to  a  servant  who  came  to  the  door,  I 
was  conducted  up  a  neat  but  rather  narrow  staircase  car- 
peted in  the  middle,  and  was  shown  into  a  middling- 
sized,  well-furnished  drawing-room  on  the  left  of  the 
passage.  Nearly  opposite  the  door  was  the  fireplace, 
with  a  wood  fire  in  it.  The  floor  was  carpeted.  On  the 
left  of  the  fireplace  was  a  sofa  which  sloped  across  the 
room.  There  were  no  pictures  on  the  walls,  no  ornaments 
on  the  chimney-piece.  Two  windows  on  the  right  of  the 
entrance  looked  into  the  street." 

On   page    5 1 3    appears  a  chair  that   was   in  the  Presi- 

5«4 


MUSICAL   GLASSES   IN   MAHOGANY   FRAME 

OwmtJ  by  Mrj.   John  Taylot  Ftrrim^  Baltimort^  MJ.     Set  fagt  j»J. 


h  - 

O  t 

u,  .5 

<  ^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

dcntial  Mansion  in  Philadelphia.  It  is  a  good  example 
of  the  Louis  Seize  period.  It  is  painted  white  and  gilt, 
while  the  upholstering  is  of  white  brocade  sprinkled  with 
flowers  of  bright  hue.      This  valuable  chair  is  now  owned 


CHAIR  GIVEN   BY   GEORGE  WASHINGTON  TO  READ 
Owned  by  hit  de«cen<)jnt,  Mr.  H.  Pumpelly  Read,  Albany,  N.  Y.      See  page  ;i6. 

by  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  in  Philadelphir. 
Another  chair  owned  by  Washington  is  seen  on  page  505. 
This  is  of  the  Heppelwhite  school.  What  the  wood  is 
we  cannot  tell,  for  it  is  painted  white.  The  seat  is  orange 
plush.  The  chair  was  originally  in  Mount  Vemoriy  but  is 
now   owned    by   the   Valentine   Museum,   Richmond,  Va. 

S»5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Other  specimens  of  furniture  from  Mount  Vernon  appear  on 
page  119  and  page  123. 

Washington  was  not  only  fond  of  furnishing  his  own 
home,  but  sometimes  gave  presents  of  furniture  to  his 
friends.  On  page  5 1  5  is  represented  a  chair  that  he  gave 
to  George  Read,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  which  is  now  owned  by  the  latter's  descendant, 
Mr.  H.  Pumpelly  Read  of  Albany,  N.  Y.  It  is  in  the 
Sheraton  style  with  fluted  legs  and  the  lyre-back,  which 
was  so  popular  in  the  Louis  Seize  period  and  so  frequently 
used  by  Sheraton.  This  has  been  restored  according  to 
tradition,  and  is  painted  white  picked  out  with  gold. 

Scarcely  second  in  interest  to  Mount  Vernon  is  Monticello, 
the  home  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  though  its  remoteness 
makes  it  practically  inaccessible  to  the  patriotic  tourist. 
All  the  distinguished  foreigners  who  came  to  this  country 
and  recorded  their  impressions  h-ave  left  glowing  accounts 
of  the  house,  its  beautiful  situation  among  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  and  its  hospitable  owner.  Levasseur,  who  ac- 
companied Lafayette  on  his  visit  there  in  1825,  thus  de- 
scribes the  mansion : 

"  The  hospitality  of  Mr.  Jefferson  is  proverbial,  his 
house  is  constantly  open,  not  only  to  numerous  visitors  from 
the  neighbourhood,  but  also  to  all  the  foreign  travellers  who 
were  attracted  by  curiosity  or  the  very  natural  desire  of 
seeing  and  conversing  with  the  sage  of  Monticello.  The 
dwelling  is  built  in  the  figure  of  an  irregular  octagon,  with 
porticoes  at  the  east  and  west,  and  peristyles  on  the  north 
and  south.  Its  extent  comprising  the  peristyles  and  porti- 
coes is  about  I  I  o  feet  by  90 ;  the  exterior  is  in  the  Doric 
order,  and  surmounted  by  balustrades.  The  interior  of  the 
house  is  ornamented  in  the  different  orders  of  architecture, 

516 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

except  the  composite ;  the  vestibule  is  Doric ;  the  dining- 
room,  Doric;  the  drawing-room,  Corinthian;  and  the 
dome,  Attic.  The  chambers  are  ornamented  in  the  differ- 
ent forms  of  these  orders  in  true  proportion  as  given  by 
Palladio.  Throughout  this  delightful  dwelling  are  to  be 
found  proofs  of  the  good  taste  of  the  proprietor,  and  of  his 
enlightened  love  for  the  arts.  His  parlour  is  ornamented 
by  a  beautiful  collection  of  paintings,  among  which  we 
remarked  with  pleasure  an  Ascension  by  Poussin,  a  holy 
family  by  Raphael ;  a  Hagellation  of  Christ  by  Rubens,  and 
a  crucifixion  by  Guido.  In  the  dining-room  were  four 
beautiful  busts  of  Washington,  Franklin,  Lafayette  and 
Paul  Jones.  There  were  also  some  other  fine  pieces  of 
sculpture  in  different  parts  of  the  house.  The  library, 
without  being  extensive,  is  well  selected  ;  but  what  espe- 
cially excites  the  curiosity  of  visitors  is  the  rich  museum 
situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  house.  This  extensive  and 
excellent  collection  consists  of  offensive  and  defensive  arms, 
dresses,  ornaments,  and  utensils  of  different  savage  tribes  of 
North  America." 

We  have  no  means  of  forming  an  exact  idea  of  the 
contents  of  each  of  the  rooms  in  Monticelloy  because,  in 
his  will,  Jefferson  departed  from  the  usual  custom  :  "  In 
consequence  of  the  variety  and  indescribableness  of  the  ar- 
ticles of  property  within  the  house  of  Mofiticello^  and  the 
difficulty  of  inventorying  and  appraising  them  separately 
and  specifically,  and  its  inutility,  1  dispense  with  having 
them  inventoried  and  appraised."  In  i8i  5,  however,  Jef- 
ferson had  drawn  up  a  list  of  his  taxable  property  in  Albe- 
marle County.  At  that  date  the  household  furniture  con- 
sisted of:  "4  clocks,  I  bureau  or  secretary  (mahogany),  2 
book  cases  do.,  4  chests  of  drawers,  do.,  i  side  board  with 

S«7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

doors  and  drawers  (mahogany),  8  separate  parts  of  dining 
table  do.,  i  3  tea  and  card  tables,  do.,  6  sophas  with  gold 
leaf,  36  chairs  (mahogany),  44  do.  gold  leaf,  1 1  pr.  win- 
dow curtains  foreign,  16  portraits  in  oil,  i  do.  crayon,  64 
pictures,  prints  and  engravings,  with  frames  more  than  i  2 
in.,  39  do.  under  12  in.  with  gilt  frames,  3  looking  glasses 
5  ft.  long,  I  3  do.  4  ft.  and  not  5  ft.,  i  do.  3  ft.  and  not  4 
ft.,  2  do.  2  ft.  and  not  3  ft.,  i  harpischord,  2  silver 
watches,  2  silver  coffee  pots,  3  plated  urns  and  coffee  pots, 
1 3  plated  candlesticks,  4  cut  glass  decanters,  i  o  silver 
cups." 

The  mahogany  bureau  or  secretary  mentioned  above 
appears  on  page  519.  It  nov/  belongs  to  Miss  Eva  Mar- 
shall Thomas  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  was  purchased  at  the 
Monticello  sale  by  Governor  Gilmer.  Colonel  John  Rus- 
sell Jones  from  Albemarle,  Va.,  was  also  a  bidder.  At  the 
sale  of  Governor  Gilmer's  effects,  Colonel  Jones  was  enabled 
to  gain  possession  of  it,  and  through  him  it  descended 
to  Miss  Thomas. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  Jefferson's  keen  intellect 
recognized  that  objects  associated  with  the  genesis  of  the 
United  States  were  likely  to  become  intensely  interesting 
on  that  account,  and  that  he  regarded  such  a  reverential 
attitude  of  mind  as  entirely  proper,  as  the  following  corre- 
spondence published  in  the  Collections  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society  proves. 

He  writes  to  his  grand-daughter,  Ellen  W.  Coolidge, 
from  Monticello^  November  14,  1825  :  "  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  friend  in  Philadelphia  lately,  asking  information  of 
the  house,  and  room  of  the  house  there,  in  which  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  written,  with  a  view  to 
future  celebrations  of  the  4th  of  July  in  it;  another  enquir- 

518 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ing  whether  a  paper  given  to  the  Philosophical  Society 
there,  as  a  rough  draught  of  that  Declaration  was  genuinely 
so.  A  society  is  formed  there  lately  for  an  annual  celebra- 
tion of  the  advent  of  Penn  to  that  place.  It  was  held  in 
his  antient  mansion,  and  the  chair  in  which  he  actually 
sate   when   at  his   writing   table   was   presented   by  a  lady 


THOMAS  Jefferson's  desk 

Owned  by  Miu  Eva  Marthall  Thomas,  Richmond,  Va.     Seepage  518. 

owning  it,  and  was  occupied  by  the  president  of  the  cele- 
bration. Two  other  chairs  were  given  them,  made  of  the 
elm  under  the  shade  of  which  Penn  had  made  his  first 
treaty  with  the  Indians.  If  these  things  acquire  a  super- 
stitious value  because  of  their  connection  with  particular 
persons,  surely  a  connection  with  the  great  Charter  of  our 
Independence  may  give  a  value  to  what  has  been  associated 
with  that ;  and  such  was  the  idea  of  the  enquirers  after  the 
room  in  which  it  was  written.  Now  I  happen  still  to  possess 
the  writing-box  on  which  it  was  written.    It  was  made  from 

5«9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  drawing  of  my  own  by  Ben.  Randall,  a  cabinet-maker  in 
whose  house  I  took  my  first  lodgings  on  my  arrival  in  Phila- 
delphia in  May,  1777,  and  I  have  used  it  ever  since.  It 
claims  no  merit  of  particular  beauty.  It  is  plain,  neat 
convenient,  and,  taking  no  more  room  on  the  writing- 
table  than  a  moderate  4to  volume,  it  yet  displays  itself  suf 
ticiently  for  any  writing.  Mr.  Coolidge  must  do  me  tlu 
favour  of  accepting  this.  Its  imaginary  value  will  increast 
with  years,  and  if  he  lives  to  my  age,  or  another  half-cen- 
tury, he  may  see  it  carried  in  the  procession  of  our  nation 'j 
birthday,  as  relics  of  the  Saints  are  in  those  of  the  Church. 
I  will  send  it  thro'  Col.  Peyton,  and  hope  with  better  for- 
tune than  that  for  which  it  is  to  be  a  substitute."  * 

Mr.  Joseph  Coolidge's  reply  was  as  follows ; 

*'  The  desk  arrived  safely,  furnished  with  a  precious 
document  which  adds  very  greatly  to  its  value  ;  for  the 
same  hand  which,  half  a  century  ago,  traced  upon  it  the 
words  which  have  gone  abroad  upon  the  earth,  now  attests 
its  authenticity  and  consigns  it  to  myself.  When  I  think 
of  the  desk  '  in  connection  with  the  great  charter  of  our  in- 
dependence,' I  feel  a  sentiment  almost  of  awe,  and  ap- 
proach it  with  respect ;  but  when  I  remember  that  it 
has  served  you  fifty  years,  been  the  faithful  depository  of 
your  cherished  thoughts,  that  upon  it  have  been  written 
your  letters  to  illustrious  and  excellent  men,  good  plans  for 
the  advancement  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  and  of  art 
•and  science,  that  it  has,  in  fact,  been  the  companion  oi 
your  studies  and  the  instrument  of  diffusing  their  results 
that  it  has  been  a  witness  of  a  philosophy  which  calumny 

*  This  desk  was  presented  to  the  United  States  by  the  heirs  of  Mr.  Joseph  Coolidg- 
(See  Proceedings  in  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  April  23,  1880,  on  th: 
Occasion  of  the  Presentation  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  writing-desk.) 

520 


WEST   PARLOUR,  MOUNT   VERNON 
Sn  fmgt  joj. 


LADY'S  \VR1TI\G-DKSK 
Ozvned  by  Charles  B.  Tiernan,  Esq.,  Baltimore,  Md.     See  pages  532-3. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

could  not  subdue,  and  of  an  enthusiasm  which  eighty 
winters  have  not  chilled, — I  would  fain  consider  it  as  no 
longer  inanimate  and  mute,  but  as  something  to  be  interro- 
gated and  caressed." 

Another  desk  belonging  to  one  of  the  makers  of 
American  history  appears  on  page  491.  This  is  a  simple 
mahogany  desk  originally  owned  by  President  Madison 
and  now  the  property  of  Mrs.  George  Ben  Johnston, 
Richmond,  Va.  • 

It  is  well  known  how  fond  of  music  Thomas  Jefferson 
was.  He  not  only  played  the  violin,  but  he  seems  to  have 
been  alive  to  all  the  new  inventions. 

While  visiting  Philadelphia  in  1 800,  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son writes  to  his  daughter :  **  A  very  ingenious,  modest 
and  poor  young  man  in  Philadelphia,  has  invented  one  of 
the  prettiest  improvements  in  the  pianoforte  that  I  have 
seen,  and  it  has  tempted  me  to  engage  one  for  Monticello. 
His  strings  are  perpendicular,  and  he  contrives  within  that 
height  to  give  his  strings  the  same  length  as  in  a  grand 
pianoforte,  and  fixes  the  three  unisons  to  the  same  screw. 
It  scarcely  gets  out  of  tune  at  all,  and  then,  for  the  most 
part,  the  three  unisons  are  tuned  at  once." 

This  must  have  been  similar  to  the  keyed  harp  which 
J.  A.  Guttwaldt,  75  Maiden  Lane,  advertises  in  the  Even- 
ing Post^  in  1818,  as  **  a  musical  instrument  that  perfectly 
equals  the  harp  in  sound,  and  tar  surpasses  it  in  point  of 
easy  treatment,  as  it  is  played  like  the  piano,  by  means  of 
keys,  and  consequently  has  all  the  advantages  of  brilliant 
modulation  ;  the  only  one  in  the  United  States."  This 
instrument  was,  undoubtedly,  the  piano-harp,  which  is  some- 
times erroneously  called  harpsichord. 

Jefferson's  interest  in  music  never  abated.    We  find  his 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

grand-daughter,  Ellen  W.  Coolidge,  writing  to  him  from 
Boston  on  December  26,  1825:  "I  have  written  a  long 
letter  and  in  great  part  by  candle-light,  but  I  cannot  close 
without  saying  that  the  brandy,  etc.,  will  be  shipped  in  about 
a  week  along  with  a  piano  built  for  Virginia  in  this  town, 
a  very  beautiful  piece  of  workmanship,  and  doing,  I  think, 
great  credit  to  the  young  mechanic  whom  we  employed, 
and  whose  zeal  was  much  stimulated  by  the  knowledge 
that  his  work  would  pas's  under  your  eye.  The  tones  of 
the  instrument  are  line,  and  its  interior  structure  compares 
most  advantageously  with  that  of  the  English-built  pianos, 
having,  we  think,  a  decided  superiority.  The  manufac- 
turer believes  that  it  will  be  to  his  advantage  to  have  it 
known  that  he  was  employed  in  such  a  work  for  you,  or 
what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  for  one  of  your  family, 
living  under  your  roof.  Willard,  the  clock-maker,  is,  as  I 
mentioned  before,  very  solicitous  to  have  the  making  of 
the  time-piece  for  the  University,  has  already  begun  it 
[upon  his  own  responsibility  and  knowing  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  as  we  have  taken  care  to  mislead  or  deceive 
him  in  nothing),  and  wishes  to  be  informed  exactly  as  to 
the  dimensions  of  the  room  in  which  the  clock  is  to 
stand." 

Thomas  Jefferson  replies  from  Monticello^  May  1 9, 
1826:  "The  pianoforte  is  also  in  place,  and  Mrs.  Carey 
happening  here  has  exhibited  to  us  its  full  powers,  which 
are  indeed  great.  Nobody  slept  the  1st  night,  nor  is  the 
tumult  yet  over  on  this  the  3rd  day  of  its  emplacement^ 

In  1824,  we  find  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post  an 
advertisement  that  a  Mr.  Cartwright  will  perform  on  the 
"  Musical  Glasses'  at  63  Liberty  Street,  and  that  the  selec- 
tions will  be  "  English,  Scotch  and  Irish  melodies."     This 

51s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

brings  to  our  notice  an  interesting  instrument  that  was 
very  popular  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
It  is  known  by  the  name  of  Harmonicon  as  well  as  that  of 
Musical  Glasses.  A  very  handsome  specimen  of  this  appears 
facing  page  514. 

The  twenty-four  glasses  are  shaped  like  ordinary  finger- 
bowls,  except  that  they  are  fastened  into  the  sounding-board 
by  means  of  short  stems.  Each  glass  contains  on  the  front 
the  letter  of  the  note  it  gives  when  the  wet  finger  is  ap- 
plied to  it.  The  glasses  are  placed  in  four  rows  of  six 
glasses  each. 

This  curious  instrument  also  forms  an  interesting  piece 
of  furniture.  Its  frame  and  case  are  mahogany.  The 
arrangement  of  its  two  back  pillars  suggests  the  console 
table.  The  box  containing  the  glasses  rests  upon  these 
and  is  supported  in  the  front  by  a  lyre  terminating  in  beau- 
tifully carved  eagles'  heads.  The  strings  on  the  lyre  are 
inlaid  brass.  The  fanciful  shaped  base  stands  upon  lions' 
claws,  while  beneath  the  pillars  the  ball  and  acanthus  leaf 
occur.  This  Harmonicon  was  originally  owned  by  Mrs. 
John  Prosser  of  Gloucester  County,  Va.,  who  bought  it 
about  eighty  years  ago.  It  became  the  property  of  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  John  Tabb  of  White  Marshy  Va.,  and  de- 
scended through  her  son,  Dr.  John  Prosser  Tabb,  to  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  John  Tayloe  Perrin  of  Baltimore.  It  was 
played  for  the  entertainment  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  when 
he  visited  White  Marsh  in  1866. 

These  instruments  are  quite  rare,  though  occasionally 
they  are  seen  in  museums  devoted  to  musical  curiosities. 
A  similar  instrument  is  owned  by  Mr.  Henry  Kellogg  ol 
Lutherville,  Md.,  and  another  by  Mr.  E.  G.  Butler  of 
Dabney,  N.  C. 

5»J 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

What  we  particularly  notice  regarding  musical  instru- 
ments at  the  period  under  review  is  the  continued  popu- 
larity of  the  harpsichord  and  the  introduction  and  popularity 
of  its  successor,  the  pianoforte.  The  latter  is  a  much  older 
instrument  than  is  commonly  supposed.  Its  origin  is 
usually  attributed  to  Cristofori,  a  harpsichord-maker  of 
Padua,  and  the  date  of  its  appearance,  1709.  The  name, 
however,  is  traced  to  1598.  Until  1760,  all  pianos  were 
made  in  the  wing-shape,  which  we  now  call  "  grands," 
but  in  that  year,  Zumpe,  a  German  maker,  introduced 
the  **  square."  It  was  also  about  1760  that  twelve  skil- 
ful German  workmen  went  to  London,  became  associated 
with  the  Broadwoods,  and  have  since  been  known  as  "  the 
twelve  apostles "  of  piano-making.  One  of  them  was 
John  Geib,  the  inventor  of  the  "  grass-hopper  action," 
whose  sons  became  conspicuous  in  New  York.  William 
Southall  of  Dublin  patented  a  "  cabinet  "  or  "  upright  "  in 
1807;  but  in  1794  the  same  maker,  "with  the  addition 
of  treble  keys,"  gave  the  piano  six  octaves — from  F  to  F. 
"  Pianos  with  additional  keys "  are  frequently  advertised 
in  the  New  York  newspapers  from  this  time  onward.  In 
1797,  "  Michael  Canschut,  Forte  Piano-maker,"  has  "just 
finished  an  elegant  well-toned  Grand  Forte  piano  with  ad- 
ditional keys  and  double-bridged  sounding  board — the  first 
of  the  kind  ever  made  in  this  city."  This  was  probably  Mr. 
Southall's  patent.  The  London  makers  soon  begin  to  send 
instruments  to  America,  and  it  is  not  long  before  branch 
houses  or  new  manufactories  are  established  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States.  One  of  these  dealers  was  John 
Jacob  Astor,  who  began  to  import  pianos  to  this  country 
about  1763.  In  1783,  he  sailed  for  Baltimore,  with  some 
flutes,  but  fell  in  with  a  fur  dealer,  which  chance  led  him 

5*4 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

into  the  fur  business.  He  exported  furs  and  imported  pianos 
until  furs  absorbed  all  of  his  energies.  He  was  succeeded 
about  I  802  by  John  and  Michael  Paff. 

Another  early  maker  was  Charles  Albrecht,  who  made 
pianos  in  Philadelphia  before  1789,  the  date  upon  the  ex- 


HIANOFORTE 


Made  by  Charles  Albrtcht,  PbiUdelphui,  1789  ;  in  the  collection  of  the    Hittorical  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.     See  below. 

ample  owned  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  in 
Philadelphia  and  represented  on  this  page.  The  case  is 
perfectly  simple  and  of  no  special  interest.  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  has  only  four  octaves  and  four  keys,  and  the  fact 
that  it  has  no  pedals  shows  that  it  is  an  exceedingly  primi- 
tive instrument. 

In    1 801,  J.   Hewitt,   59    Maiden    Lane,  sells  "grand 
pianofortes,  uprights  and  longways,  with  additional  keys, 

5*5 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

square  ditto  with  or  without  additional  keys";  and  he  also 
has  **  organs,  violins,  violoncellos,  bows,  kits,  flutes,  clar- 
inets, hoboys,  horns,  bassoons,  carillons,  and  Roman 
strings,  etc." 

In  1802,  music  and  musical  instruments  could  be  pur- 
chased from  George  Gilfert,  1 77  Broadway,  and  in  the 
same  year  John  and  Michael  PafF,  127  Broadway,  adver- 
tise "50  square  patent  to  F,  with  additional  keys  to  F  F ; 
2  grand  pianofortes,  a  harpsichord,  and  an  upright  grand 
pianoforte";  and  in  1806  they  advertise  " two  very  elegant 
Satten  Wood  pianofortes."  Gibson  and  Davis,  58  Warren 
Street,  also  sold  pianofortes  for  a  great  many  years  from 
1803.  D.  Mazzinghi,  i  i  Murray  Street,  advertises  in  1803 
"  pianofortes  from  London,  made  by  Astor,  Bell,  and  de- 
menti." 

In  I  816,  John  Paff  has  some  pianofortes  from  London, 
costing  from  $200  to  $300.  For  grand  upright  pianos,  in 
I  8 1 7,  you  could  **  inquire  at  Mr.  Phyfe's  Cabinet  Ware- 
House,  Fulton  Street  " ;  and,  in  the  same  year,  John  and 
Adam  Geib  &  Co.  advertise  a  **  superb  musical  clock  man- 
ufactured in  Paris,  which  plays  a  large  variety  of  the  best 
music,  set  on  six  barrels,  and  is  united  with  a  flrst-rate 
time-piece.  It  is  perhaps  superior  to  anything  of  the  kind 
imported  into  the  United  States;  being  valued  at  thirteen 
hundred  dollars ;  and  is  ofl^ered  for  sale  at  that  price,  or 
will  be  exhibited  to  any  Lady  or  Gentleman  who  will  hon- 
our the  above  firm  with  a  call  at  their  Piano  Forte  ware- 
house and  wholesale  and  retail  music  store,  No.  23  Maiden 
Lane." 

The  two  Geibs  just  mentioned  were  among  the  most 
important  of  the  early  pianoforte-makers  in  New  York. 
They  were  the  sons  of  John  Geib,  already  spoken  of  on 

516 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

page  524.  We  find  them  in  New  York,  at  23  Maiden 
Lane,  selling  pianos  made  by  Geib,  Broadwood,  Astor,  and 
Clementi.  The  name  Geib  appears  early  in  the  New 
York  newspapers.  John  Geib  and  Son  (1807)  "respect- 
fully inform  the  public  and  the  lovers  of  the  arts  that  they 
have  just  constructed  a  Forte  Piano  on  a  new  plan,  it  hav- 
ing 4  pedals:  ist,  the  Harp;  2d,  the  Bassoon;  3d,  the 
Full  Chorus :  4th,  the  Swell,  to  which  they  invite  the  cu- 
rious and  ingenious,  hoping  it  will  meet  their  approbation." 
In  1 82 1,  J.  H.  and  W.  Geib  have  for  sale  "a  large  and 
handsome  assortment  of  Piano  Fortes  of  the  latest  fashion, 
and  of  superior  tone  and  workmanship,  among  which  are 
many  made  by  Clementi  and  Co.  and  Astor  and  Co.  of 
London."  These  were  for  sale  at  their  wholesale  and 
retail  store,  23  Maiden  Lane. 

In  1822,  A.  &  W.  Geib  have  removed  from  23  Mai- 
den Lane  to  their  manufactory,  Greenwich,  in  Barton 
Street;  and  in  1823,  A.  &  W.  Geib  "have  reopened  their 
store,  23  Maiden  Lane,  where  they  offer  an  extensive  as- 
sortment of  pianofortes  of  their  own  manufacture,  also 
some  by  Clementi  and  Broadwood."  They  have  an  exe- 
cutor's sale  in  the  same  year  of  articles  belonging  to  the 
estate  of  John  Geib,  consisting  of  two  elegant  superior 
toned  dementi's  pianos,  one  do.,  round  end  pillar  and 
claw  ;  one  do.  doz.  rosewood  do.  and  two  square  and  com- 
mon do."  In  1825  A.  and  VV.  Geib  have  at  their  "piano- 
forte warehouse,  23  Maiden  Lane,"  "  two  very  elegant 
rosewood  pianofortes  just  from  the  manufactory." 

This  firm  disappears  from  the  New  York  directories  in 
1828,  when  William  removes  "up-town"  to  Eleventh 
Street.  Therefore,  the  very  handsome  pianoforte  that  faces 
page  5 1 6,  bearing  the  inscription :   "  New  Patent,  A.  and 

5*7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

W.  Geib,  23  Maiden  Lane,  New  York,"  must  have  been 
made  between  the  years  1823  and  1828,  and  may  indeed 
have  been  one  of  the  rosewood  pianos  advertised  in  1825. 
This  must  have  been  in  its  day  a  very  excellent  instrument. 
It  is  now  a  very  beautiful  piece  of  furniture.  The  case  is 
made  of  extremely  handsome  rosewood  and  is  ornamented 
with  two  bands  of  ornate  brasswork.  The  name-plate  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  cluster  of  daisies  and  morning-glories  painted 
with  that  green  metallic  colouring  that  at  this  period  was 
used  so  universally  to  decorate  the  backs  of  the  *'  Fancy 
Chair."  On  either  side  of  these  flowers  is  a  latticework,  each 
square  of  which  is  carved  and  is  decorated  in  the  centre  with  a 
golden  dot.  Behind  the  latticework  is  a  piece  of  sapphire 
velvet.  A  thin  gold  thread  is  painted  above  this  decoration 
and  again  appears  on  the  outside  at  the  rounded  ends  where 
it  forms  a  square.  Below  the  two  bands  of  metal  and  above 
the  legs,  three  drawers  will  be  noticed.  The  little  draw- 
ers at  the  ends  are  furnished  with  one  handsome  brass  knob, 
and  each  is  lined  with  red  velvet.  The  central  drawer 
has  two  knobs.  Above  each  of  the  legs  a  very  elaborate 
medallion  forms  not  only  a  decoration,  but  is  evidently  a 
necessity  for  hiding  the  screw  or  pin  by  which  the  leg  is 
held  to  the  body  of  the  instrument.  Such  ornaments  are 
invariably  seen  on  the  legs  of  the  high-post  bedsteads. 
The  six  legs  of  this  piano  are  turned  and  carved  with  the 
acanthus  in  high  relief,  and  above  the  carving  an  ornate 
band  of  delicately  chiselled  brass  contributes  an  additional 
ornament.  In  the  centre  and  a  little  to  the  left  is  the 
pedal,  and  it  is  interesting  to  compare  this  with  the  pedals 
on  the  harpsichord  represented  on  page  501.  The  piano 
on  page  525  has  no  pedals. 

We  have  already  seen  that  musical  and  chiming-clocks 

5*» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


SECRETARY  GIVEN  BY  JOSEPH   BONAPARTE  TO  STEPHEN  GIRARD 
Now  in  Girird  College,  Philadelphia.     See  page  530. 


were  in  vogue  before  the  Revolution  (see  pages  303—4). 
In  1776,  we  find  an  advertisement  that  **  Mervin  Perrv  re- 
peating and  plain  Clock  and  Watchmaker  from  London, 
where  he  has  improved  himself  under  the  most  eminent  and 

5*9 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

capital  artists  in  those  branches,  has  opened  shop  in  Han- 
over Square  at  the  Sign  of  the  Dial.  He  mends  and  re- 
pairs musical,  repeating,  quarterly,  chime,  silent  pull  and 
common  weight  clocks." 

Clocks  with  automata  are  sometimes  imported.  For 
example  : 

George  J.  Warner,  lo  Liberty  Street,  in  1795,  has 
"  two  musical  chamber  clocks,  with  moving  figures,  which 
play  four  tunes  each  on  two  setts  of  elegantly  well-toned 
bells,  and  show  the  hour,  minute,  and  day  of  the  week." 
Musical  clocks  with  figures,  and  cuckoo  clocks,  could  be 
had  at  Kerner  and  Pafl^'s,  245  Water  Street  (1796);  Ed- 
ward Meeks,  Jr.,  1 14  Maiden  Lane,  "  has  eight-day  jclocks 
and  chiming  time-pieces"  (1796). 

In  I  8  I  5— 16,  Stolenwerck  and  Brothers  have  for  sale  at 
157  Broadway  "a  superb  musical  cabinet  or  Panharmoni- 
con  combined  with  a  secretary  and  clock.  The  music, 
which  goes  by  weights  in  the  manner  of  a  clock,  consists 
of  a  selection  of  the  finest  pieces  by  the  most  celebrated 
composers,  and  is  perfect.  On  opening  the  door  of  the 
Secretary  a  beautiful  colonnade  of  alabaster  pillars  with 
gilded  capitals  and  bases  is  displayed.  The  whole  is  about 
7  feet  high,  surmounted  with  a  marble  figure  of  Urania 
leaning  on  a  globe,  round  which  a  zone  revolves  and  indi- 
cates the  hours.  It  was  made  at  Berlin  in  Prussia,  and  cost 
$1,500." 

This  must  have  been  somewhat  similar  to  the  secretary 
shown  on  page  529,  a  present  from  Joseph  Bonaparte  to 
Stephen  Girard,  and  now  in  Girard  College,  Philadelphia. 
This  is  of  satin  wood  ornamented  with  ormoulu.  The  col- 
umns are  of  marble  with  brass  capitals.  In  the  centre  of 
the  arch,  a  clock   is  placed,  and  the  secretary  is  equipped 

530 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

with  a  fine  musical  box.  A  similar  piece  of  furniture  is 
owned  by  Theodore  B.  Woolsey,  Esq.,  New  York. 

Occasionally  a  valuable  and  rare  specimen  finds  its  way 
across  the  Atlantic.  In  1801,  David  F.  Launay,  watch- 
maker. No.  9  Warren  Street,  has  "a  high  finished  clock 
which  decorated  the  library  of  the  late  King  of  France, 
made  by  Charles  Bertrand  of  the  Royal  Academy ;  its 
original  price,  5,000  livres;  to  be  sold  for  500  dollars";  and 
in  I  817,  Ruffier  &  Co.,  importers  of  French  Dry  Goods, 
142  Broadway, advertise,  "bronze  clock  work,  a  large  mon- 
ument, in  Bronze  and  Gilt  ornaments,  erected  to  the  hon- 
our of  the  brave  who  fell  in  the  ever  memorable  Battle  of 
Waterloo,  June  the  18th,  181  5,"  and  "Statue  of  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon  in  imitation  of  that  placed  at  the  top  of 
the  column,  erected  at  the  Place  Vendome  in  Paris,  on  a 
marble  pedestal,  ornamented  with  gilt  and  of  a  fine  execu- 
tion. 

However,  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  tall  clock 
has  disappeared.  Facing  page  540  is  represented  one  with 
a  case  of  cherry  neatly  inlaid.  This  was  made  in  Connec- 
ticut about  I  800,  and  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Walter  Hos- 
mer,  Wethersfield,  Conn.  On  the  same  plate  is  a  variety 
of  clock  that  has  become  very  common.  It  is  frequently 
called  the  "banjo  clock."  This  specimen,  which  belongs 
to  Mrs.  Wainwright,  Hartford,  Conn.,  is  about  three  feet 
long.  The  square  base  in  which,  of  course,  the  pendulum 
swings,  is  about  twelve  inches  square.  The  pictures  that 
decorate  the  front  are  painted  on  glass,  and  the  framework 
is  gilt. 

Joseph  Bonfanti,  305  Broadway,  advertises  in  1823, 
"  German  clocks  some  plain  with  music  and  some  with 
moving  figures,"  and  French  clocks  "  some  with  music  and 

S3« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

will  play  different  tunes,"  also  "  ladies'  musical  work- 
boxes  and  musical  snufF-boxes."  All  sorts  of  novelties 
could  be  purchased  at  Joseph  Bonfanti's  shop,  and  in  1824 
he  constantly  endeavours  to  attract  customers  by  verses 
proclaiming  his  wares.      For  example : 

"  Large  elegant  time-pieces  playing  sweet  tunes^ 

And  cherry  stones  too  that  hold  ten  dozen  spoons^ 
And  clocks  that  chime  sweetly  on  nine  little  bells. 
And  boxes  so  neat  ornamented  with  shells. 

#X*  JfC  JfJ 

"  His  drawing-room  ornaments  whiter  than  plaster, 
A  beautiful  stuff  which  is  called  alabaster; 
For  beauty  and  elegance  nothing  surpasses. 

Arranged  on  the  chimney-piece  in  front  of  the  glasses. 

*jC  JjC  J^ 

*'  Here  ladies  may  buy  musical  work-boxes  gay. 

Which  while  they  sit  working  will  prettily  play ; 
Superb  magic  lanterns  and  tea-trays  japanned. 

Hair  lockets,  steel  watch  chains,  quills,  wafers  and  sand." 

We  have  noted  the  many  kinds  of  furniture  specially 
designed  by  Sheraton  for  ladies,  and  naturally  the  Ameri- 
can papers  from  about  1 8  i  o  onward  frequently  advertise 
work-tables,  letter-cases,  work-boxes,  etc.,  and  these  are 
often  furnished  with  musical  boxes,  such  as  Bonfanti  de- 
scribes, and  clocks.  The  work-table,  with  its  drawers,  its 
compartments  for  small  articles  and  its  pouch,  was  found  in 
every  household.  We  have  given  two  examples  on  pages 
4,81  and  ^83.  The  letter-case  was  a  desk  that  partook 
,^mewhat  of  the  form  of  a  screen  and  could  be  conven- 
iently moved  in  front  of  the  fire.  One,  now  in  Mount 
^^r«o«,  appears  on  page  i  19  and  another  on  page  473.  A 
lady's  desk,  very  similar  in  shape,  facing  page  524,  belongs 
to  Charles  B.  Tiernan,  Esq.,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  was  im- 

53a 


MAHOGANY   SIDEBOARD 

Owntd  by  Mrs.  Cbarlti  S.  FaircbiU^  Catumovia,  N.  T".     See  page  jj6. 


"BANJO  CLOCK"  CLOCK  WITH  CHERRY  CASE 

Ouned  by  Mrs.  fVainzvright,  Hartjord,  Conn.         Owned  by  Mr.  Walter  Hosmer,  fV ethers  field , 
See  page  S3^-  Conn.     See  page  $^1. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


ported  from  Europe  for  his  mother.  The  drawers  are 
delicately  inlaid  with  ivory  in  conventional  garlands  and  are 
furnished  with  very  small  ivory  knobs.  The  ornamental 
head  of  the  desk  contains  a  musical  box  and  clock. 

The  work-table  shown  on 
this  page  is  interesting  as  a  piece 
of  furniture  and  on  account  of  its 
history.  It  was  designed  for  the 
charming  Lady  Blessington,  by 
her  admirer,  Count  d'Orsay,  and 
stood  in  the  drawing-room  at 
Gore  House  for  several  years,  be- 
fore misfortune  visited  it.  When 
Lady  Blessington  fled  to  France, 
the  sherifFseized  the  furniture  and 
held  a  sale  at  Gore  House.  This 
work-table  was  purchased  by  Mr. 
Featherstonhaugh,  who  brought  it 
to  America.  It  is  now  owned  by 
his  son,  Mr.  George  W.  Feather- 
stonhaugh, in  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 

The  table  is  of  a  peculiar, 
vase-shaped  form,  and  is  but  thirty  inches  high.  It  is  eigh- 
teen inches  across  the  top,  which  opens  back  upon  a  hinge, 
revealing  a  well  surrounded  by  nine  small  compartments  for 
small  articles.  The  exterior  is  of  hard  polished  wood,  in- 
laid all  over  with  wreaths  of  roses  and  forget-me-nots  and 
birds.  The  colours  of  the  leaves  and  petals  of  the  flowers, 
as  well  as  the  feathers  of  the  birds,  are  executed  in  variously 
coloured  woods.  The  beautiful  and  delicate  marquetry,  as 
well  as  the  graceful  design,  render  this  a  most  valuable  and 
curious  piece  of  cabinet-work. 

533 


LADY 


BLESSINGTON  S 
TABLE 


WORK- 


Owned  by  Mr.  George  W.  Fe«ther»ton- 
haugh,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.   See  this  page. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

During  the  Revolution,  New  York  being  in  the  hands 
of  the  British,  the  city  retained  its  character  as  a  busy 
mart,  though,  of  course,  importations  of  furniture  were  not 
as  extensive  as  in  times  of  peace.  The  New  York  news- 
papers contain  frequent  notices  of  auctions  of  household 
goods  by  returning  officers  and  other  officials  and  gentry. 
In  1780,  the  following  advertisement  appeared  in  the  New 
Tork  Gazette,  and  is  typical  of  many : 

"  All  the  elegant,  useful  and  ornamental  house  furniture 
of  a  gentleman  going  to  England,  viz.,  a  variety  of  plate, 
china  and  glass,  mahogany  chairs,  tables,  desks,  bureaus, 
sideboard  and  cellaret,  mahogany  bedsteads,  with  rich  dam- 
ask harrateen  and  copper-plate  furniture  and  window  cur- 
tains to  match,  very  best  feather  beds  and  bedding,  elegant 
carpets,  looking-glasses,  cases  of  knives  and  forks,  table 
linen,  fuzee  and  bayonet,  silver-mounted  pistols,  handsome 
swords,  perspective  glasses,  a  prime  violin  of  the  softest 
tone,  an  iron  chest,  Madeira  and  claret  wine,  arrack,  a 
number  of  books,  brass  andirons,  and  all  kinds  of  kitchen 
furniture." 

The  above  mention  of  sideboard  and  cellaret  reminds 
us  that  the  sideboard  was  just  coming  into  fashion,  taking 
the  place  of  the  plain  sideboard-table.  Examples  of  Hep- 
pelwhite  and  Sheraton  sideboards  have  been  given  in  the 
last  chapter,  and  on  page  535  is  another  specimen  from  the 
Gansevoort  home,  Whitehall,  which  was  the  headquarters 
of  the  British  Governor  in  Albany.  The  knife-boxes,  with 
the  knives,  standing  upon  it  and  the  cellaret  below,  are  of 
the  same  date  and  belong  to  it.  These  articles  are  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Leonard  Ten  Eyck,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Sideboards  are  frequently  advertised  in  New  York,  the 
wine-cooler  or  cellaret  often  receives  special  mention.      In 

534 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

1808,  "Egyptian  wine-coolers*'  are  introduced.     This  was 
"  an  entirely  new  patent  cooler,  very  elegantly  press'd  with 


MAHOGANY    SIDEBOARD,  KNIFE-BOXES    AND    CELLARET,  FROM    WHITE- 
HALL,   THE    OANSEVOORT    HOME 
Ownrd  by  Mr.  Lronard  Ten  Eyck.     S«e  page  534. 

superb  figures,  and  undoubtedly  the  very  best  thing  ever 
used  for  the  purpose.  It  is  made  of  the  finest  clay  un- 
glaz'd,  is  of  a  salmon  colour,  and  a  handsome  ornament  to 
any  dining-table." 

ill 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  specimen  facing  page  532  is  a  fine  example  of 
native  workmanship.  It  was  made  in  New  York  in  1807 
for  the  alcove  in  which  it  stands.  This  piece  of  furniture, 
as  well  as  the  house,  Lorenzo^  built  at  Cazenovia,  New  York, 
by  John  Lincklaen  in  1807,  is  owned  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  S.  Fairchild.  It  is  of  mahogany.  The  capitals  of 
the  pillars  and  the  claw  feet  are  well  carved  and  the  ring 
handles  are  original.  The  mirror  above  it  and  the  candle- 
sticks, china  and  chairs  all  belong  to  the  same  period. 

In  1823,  we  find  advertisements  of  "  elegant  sideboards 
inlaid  with  rosewood,"  **  highly  polished  marble  slabs  for 
sideboards  from  Italy,"  and  "plain  and  inlaid  carved  col- 
umn and  claw  feet  sideboards."  The  latter  description 
evidently  fits  Mrs.  Fairchild's  piece,  which  thus  continued 
a  fashionable  model  for  many  years. 

Still  another  variety  appears  on  page  498.  This  speci- 
men, owned  by  the  American  Antiquarian  Society  of  Wor- 
cester, Mass.,  is  of  mahogany  with  semi-circular  front. 
The  ever  popular  bell-flower  is  carved  above  the  legs,  and 
the  lower  opening  beneath  the  arch  is  enclosed  with  a 
tambour  slide.  Knobs  are  placed  upon  the  drawers  and 
doors,  but  a  brass  escutcheon  with  ring  handle  still  fur- 
nishes the  tambour  slide,  which  is  made  of  separate  strips. 

Another  handsome  sideboard  of  elaborately  carved  oak 
appears  as  the  frontispiece.  This  belongs  to  Miss  Jessie 
Colby  of  New  York,  and  has  been  in  the  Colgate  family 
for  more  than  half  a  century. 

A  desk  and  bookcase  made  of  curled  maple  appears  on 
page  541.  This  is  an  old  family  piece,  and  is  now  the 
property  of  Mr.  Charles  S.  Fairchild  of  New  York.  It  is 
a  good  specimen  of  native  work  and  was  made  about  181  2. 
Another  variety  of  desk  faces  page  550.     This  belonged  to 

i36 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Daniel  Webster  and  is  now  in  the  collection  of  the  IVayside 
Inn,  Sudbury,  Mass,  and  is  owned  by  Mr.  E.  R.  Lemon. 
It  is  of  mahogany  and  satin  wood  with  a  narrow  inlay  of 
satin  wood  and  ebony  at  the  base,  representing  a  cord. 
The  ring  handles  are  of  simple  form. 


DESK    AND    CHAIR 
Owned  by  Nflts  Anne  Van  Cortlandt,  Cruton  on-thc-Hudion,  New  York.     See  below. 


A  desk  of  historical  interest  is  shown  on  this  page. 
De  Witt  Clinton  is  said  to  have  died  while  sitting  at  it. 
By  it  stands  a  chair  somewhat  similar  to  those  facing  page 
1 1 8.  The  pattern  of  this  chair  is  exactly  similar  to  one 
owned  by  the  Worshipful  Company  of  Parrish  Clerks  in 
London,  dating  from  about  1750.  These  pieces  belong 
to  Miss  Anne  Van  Cortlandt,  Croton-on-the-Hudson, 
N.  Y. 

S37 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

In  addition  to  the  fashionable  furniture  of  the  day  that 
was  imported  from  England  and  France,  there  were  always 
additional  special  importations  of  objects  due  to  individual 
taste,  especially  when  the  revived  interest  in  antiques  be- 
gan to  be  generally  felt.  Oriental  goods  came  in  in  a  steady 
stream.  Among  our  illustrations  of  individual  importa- 
tions are  the  carved  ebony  table  facing  page  487,  that  be- 
longed to  Houqua,  a  mandarin  of  China,  and  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  Caleb  T.  Smith,  Smithtown,  L.  I.  (see  page  416); 
a  French  chair  made  of  fancy  wood  trimmed  with  brass 
and  ornamented  with  porcelain  plaques,  and  upholstered 
in  pale  blue  satin,  owned  by  Mr.  Robert  Colby,  New 
York  ;  a  sofa  and  chair  imported  by  C.  C.  Pinckney,  and 
owned  by  Mrs.  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  Charleston, 
S.  C.  (see  page  493)  ;  a  carved  Indian  chair,  a  table 
made  of  South  American  woods,  and  a  carved  ebony  mir- 
ror from  the  Summer  Palace,  Pekin,  now  owned  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Thomas  Small,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  (see  facing 
page  498).  Bronze  candelabra  appear  facing  page  500;  and 
a  console  table  on  page  553.  The  latter  was  bought  in 
London  at  a  sale  of  the  Russian  Ambassador's  effects,  by 
John  Hubbard  of  Boston,  grandfather  of  the  present 
owner. 

How  well  New  York  kept  abreast  of  European  fashions 
in  furniture  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  can  best  be 
shown  by  the  newspaper  announcements.  In  i  802,  Chris- 
tian, Cabinet-maker,  73  Broad  Street,  thanks  the  public  for 
patronage,  and  says,  **  the  several  years  of  experience  he 
has  had  as  a  workman  in  some  of  the  first  shops  of  Europe 
and  America,  enable  him  to  supply  those  who  may  favour 
him  with  their  custom,  with  furniture  of  the  first  taste  and 
workmanship." 

53> 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Two  choice  articles  of  furniture  come  to  auction  in 
1808:  "a  set  of  Pillar-and-cliuv  dining-tables  in  five  re- 
moves made  of  uncommonly  fine  San  Domingo  mahogany, 
with  brass  castors,  springs  and  fasteners  complete;"  and 
'*a  first-rate  pedestal  and  sideboard  on  castors  made  of  solid 
mahogany  of  superior  quality."  The  above  articles,  the 
advertisement  tells  us,  "  were  made  in  this  city  to  a  partic- 
ular order,"  and  assures  us  that  the  mahogany  was  seasoned 
five  years  before  being  made  up. 

Among  chairs  and  sofas,  we  notice : 

**  A  handsome  set  of  drawing  room  chairs  with  a 
suitable  sofa  and  curtains ;  fancy  and  Windsor  chairs 
(  1 802 ) ;  chairs  with  rattan  bottoms  ( i  806);  green  Windsor 
and  plain  and  figured  (1808)  ;  conversation,  curled  maple, 
painted,  ornamented,  landscape,  sewing  and  rocking  chairs 
(  I  8 1 7)  ;  mahogany  with  hair  sittings  ;  rosewood  and  fancy 
painted  (1819);  reclining,  cane  and  rush  seat  and  fancy 
gilt  (1822);  bamboo,  rocking  and  sewing;  fancy  book 
and  round  front  rush  and  cane  seat ;  bamboo,  round  front, 
rosewood  ;  Grecian  back,  cane  and  rush  seat,  gilt  bamboo  ; 
hair  stufi^ed,  fancy  rush  and  cane  seat ;  imitation  rosewood 
cane  seats ;  elegant  mahogany  chairs  eagle  pattern ;  plain 
with  panelled  back;  Trafalgar  with  landscapes  (1823); 
mahogany  covered  with  rich  crimson  satin  damask  ;  square 
and  round  front  fancy  gilt,  fancy  chairs  richly  gilt  with  real 
gold  and  bronze  ;  white  and  gold  cane  seats  ( 1824)  ;  rose- 
wood covered  with  yellow  plush  (1825);  yellow  bamboo 
(1826);  mahogany  with  plain  and  figured  hair  seating 
(  I  826).  Grecian  sofas,  and  couches  of  new  and  elegant  pat- 
terns (  1820)  ;  ten  Grecian  sofas  of  warranted  workmanship 
(1822)  ;  Blair's  patent  elastic  spring  sofas  (1822);  a  Grecian 
sofa  with  scroll  ends,  a  set  superb  curled  maple  chairs  with 

559 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

cane  seats  and  Grecian  posts  and  settee  to  match  and  polished 
on  the  varnish ;  five  new  pattern  couches  and  sofas  (1823); 
sixty  pattern  spring  and  hair  seat  Grecian  sofas  (1823); 
Grecian  sofas,  some  of  which  are  inlaid  with  rose  and  satin 
wood  ;  four  plain  hair  stuffed  sofas  ;  three  banded-back  and 
scroll-end  sofas ;  a  sofa  covered  with  crimson  (1823)  ;  six 
scroll-end  sofas  covered  with  red  damask  inlaid  with  rose- 
wood gilt  and  bronzed  feet ;  two  crimson  do.,  six  hair 
seating,  pannel-back  and  scroll-end  sofas  ;  ten  elegant  black 
hair  seating  sofas ;  two  superb  settees  with  elegant  damask 
cushions,  pillows,  etc.,  and  twelve  cane  seat  white  and  gold 
chairs  to  match  (1824);  Windsor  settees;  "rosewood  sofa 
covered  with  yellow  plush  and  twelve  chairs  to  match, 
made  by  order  of  a  Spanish  gentleman  (1825)."  It  will 
be  noticed  that  new  fashions  are  now  prevailing,  especially 
the  "  Fancy  "  and  "  Trafalgar  '*  chairs,  and  the  Egyptian 
and  Classic  forms  of  the  Empire  style.  These  will  all  be 
described  in  the  following  chapter.  The  tables,  beds,  bu- 
reaus, bookcases  and  other  articles  of  furniture  occur  in 
equally  multitudinous  varieties,  but  lack  of  space  forbids 
any  attempt  at  further  enumeration. 

Two  chairs  belonging  to  a  full  set  imported  from 
France,  and  now  in  the  home  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters, 
Salem,  appear  on  page  545.  The  back  of  each  is  carved 
in  a  different  pattern,  the  wood  being  entirely  cut  away 
from  the  figures. 

A  handsomely  carved  sofa  owned  by  Dr.  Herman  V. 
Mynderse,  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  faces  page  510.  The 
scroll  ends  have  the  form  of  dolphins,  and  the  feet 
terminate  in  the  lion's  claw.  This  is  upholstered  in  horse- 
hair. 

As  we  have  seen  how  the  South  impresvsed  a  Northern 

540 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


CURLED  MAPLE   DEfiK 
Made  near  Caxenovia  about  1811  ;  owned  by  Mr.  Chjrlri  S.  Fairchild,  New  York.      See  page  536. 


traveller  at  this  period,  it  may  be  interesting  to  see  how 
the  North  impressed  a  Southern  visitor.  On  October  21, 
1789,  General  Washington  writes  of  Connecticut,  in  his 
Diary:  "There  is  a  great  equality  in   the  People  of  this 


541 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

State.  Few  or  no  opulent  men — and  no  poor — great  sim- 
ilitude in  their  buildings — the  general  fashion  of  which  is 
a  Chimney  (always  of  Stone  or  Brick),  and  door  in  the 
middle,  with  a  staircase  fronting  the  latter,  running  up  by 
the  side  of  the  latter  [former?] — two  flush  stories,  with  a 
very  good  show  of  sash  and  glass  windows — the  size  gen- 
erally is  from  30  to  50  feet  in  length,  and  from  20  to  30 
in  width,  exclusive  of  a  back  shed,  which  seems  to  be 
added  as  the  family  increases." 

On  October  22,  he  writes  from  Brookfield,  Mass.: 
"  The  fashion  of  the  houses  are  more  diversified  than  in 
Connecticut,  though  many  are  built  in  their  style." 

On  November  3,  the  note  in  his  Diary  is  as  follows : 
**  Portsmouth  (N.  H.)  contains  about  5,000  inhabitants. 
There  are  some  good  houses  (among  which  Colonel  Lang- 
don's  may  be  esteemed  the  first,)  but  in  general  they  are 
indifferent,  and  almost  entirely  of  wood.  On  wondering 
at  this,  as  the  country  is  full  of  stone  and  good  clay  for 
bricks,  I  was  told  that  on  account  of  the  fogs  and  damp, 
they  deemed  them  wholesomer,  and  for  that  reason  pre- 
ferred wood  buildings." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Washington  was  struck  with 
the  general  uniformity  of  pecuniary  conditions  in  the 
North.  The  luxurious  home  was,  in  fact,  the  exception. 
Many  important  people  in  New  England  rose  into  promi- 
nence from  very  modest  circumstances.  As  an  example, 
the  Hon.  Charles  Rich,  of  Vermont  (Member  of  Con- 
gress) began  house-keeping  in  1791,  possessed  of  no  other 
property  than  i  cow,  i  pair  2-year  old  steers,  6  sheep,  1 
bed,  and  a  few  articles  of  household  furniture,  which,  all  to- 
gether, were  valued  at  $66.00,  and  about  45  acres  of  land. 
While  *'  at  the  mill,"  he  wrote,  *'  I  constructed  a  number 

54* 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  articles  of  furniture,  which  have  been  in  daily  use  from 
that  time,  to  the  present."      He  died  in  1824. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  many  Bostonians 
shut  up  their  houses  and  removed  their  furniture  to  places 
of  safetv,  as  was  the  case  in  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere. 
On  August  5,  1775,  Abigail  Adams  writes  to  John  Adams : 
**  If  alarming  half-a-dozen  places  at  the  same  time  is  an 
act  of  generalship,  Howe  may  boast  of  his  late  conduct. 
\Vc  have  never,  since  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  been  under 
apprehensions  of  an  invasion  equal  to  what  we  suffered  last 
week.  All  Boston  was  in  confusion,  packing  up  and  cart- 
ing out  of  town  household  furniture,  military  stores,  goods, 
etc.  Not  less  than  a  thousand  teams  were  employed  on 
Friday  and  Saturday ;  and,  to  their  shame  be  it  told,  not  a 
small  trunk  would  they  carry  under  eight  dollars ;  and 
many  of  them,  I  am  told,  asked  a  hundred  dollars  a  load ; 
for  carting  a  hogshead  of  molasses  eight  miles,  thirty  dol- 
lars. O,  human  nature !  or,  rather,  O,  inhuman  nature  ! 
what  art  thou  ?  The  report  of  the  fleet's  being  seen  off 
Cape  Ann,  Friday  night,  gave  me  the  alarm,  and,  though 
pretty  weak,  I  set  about  packing  up  my  things,  and  on  Sat- 
urday moved  a  load." 

Some   of  the  fugitives   were    fortunate   enough   to   let 
their  houses  to   British   officers  before   affairs   became  too 
serious.      One   of  these   was  James   Lovell,  who    in    1775 
writes  to  Mr.  Oliver  Wendell,  at  Salem,  as  follows  : 
**  My  D'  Neighbour : 

"  Just  after  I  wrote  vou  last  Doct'  Morris  Physician  of 
the  Army  an  Elderly  (Jentleman  took  the  House,  and  was 
so  complaisantly  pressing  to  come  in  that  I  work**  all  night 
from  yesterday  Noon,  and  admitted  him  at  10  this  morn- 
ing.      He  wishes  to  have   the   Furniture  committed  to  his 

543 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Care,  nay  is  willing  to  pay  for  it,  and  makes  the  strongest 
Promises  of  the  extremest  Care.  I  think  what  I  have  left 
is  better  there  than  carry'd  to  Jeffries's,  my  House  or  the 
Store.  I  think  giving  the  use  a  much  greater  security 
against  Abuse  than  letting,  I  therefore  told  Him  that  I  would 
leave  as  p'  Mem**""  for  the  present^  for  which  he  is  greatly 
thankful,  but  that  I  should  attend  y'  Order  respecting  all 
or  any  Part.  As  to  that  *  He  shall  be  very  thankful  for 
present  use,  as  it  will  give  opp**  to  provide  if  y'  Commands 
make  it  necessary.' 

**  Your  Desk  and  Case  shall  have  the  same  Care  as  if  the 
Papers  were  his  own  or  I  may  remove  it  at  my  pleasure, 
if  free  access  is  too  troublesome  to  me. 

"  Monday  Voulks  was  out  a-Fishing  and  I  entirely  for- 
got Jacob  so  that  my  own  School  Runners  performed  the 
whole  ;  and  I  assure  you  without  breaking  6d.  value  of 
any  sort.  I  had  the  House  swept  from  Garret  to  Cellar. 
.  .  .  I  have  given  the  Gentleman  an  Inventory.  He 
promises  i  o  fold  Recompense  for  Damage,  appears  mightily 
pleased  with  appearances  and  the  Landlord,  prays  for  you 
to  come  in  upon  the  present  Tenant  quitting."  He  con- 
tinues: "I  have  packed  every  Thing  of  China  Glass  in 
small  assorted  Packages  which  are  then  to  be  put  into 
lock't  Chests  in  my  Cellar.  I  can  give  you  a  specimen  : 
No.  4.  Indian.  i  Box  Cake  Pans  and  illumination  molds, 
both  reserved  for  our  coming  Day  oi  American  Jubilee." 

It  is  refreshing  to  find  a  patriot  so  confident  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  American  arms  as  to  store  Bengal  lights  for  the 
final  jubilations. 

The  British  officers  naturally  took  possession  of  the 
best  quarters  they  could  find,  and  they  were  not  very  care- 
ful in   their   usage   of  the  household  goods  of  the  absent 

544 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

owners.     John  Hancock  complains  of  this  in   a   letter  to 
Captain  Smith,  November  14,   1781: 

"  Inclosed  you  have  the  dimensions  of  the  Bed  Cham- 
bers for  each  of  which  I  want  Wilton  Carpet ; — do  let 
them  be  neat.     The    British  Officers   who   possessed   mj 


CHAIRS    OF    FRENCH    MAKE 
In  the  home  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mau.       See  page  540. 

house   totally   defaced  and    removed  all   my  carpet  and   I 
must  submit." 

The  wars  of  the  Revolution  were  responsible  for  enor 
mous  destruction  of  furniture,  but  other  causes  sometime^ 
operated  also. 

Chief  Justice  Sewall,  writing  from  Marblehead,  Jan- 
uary 27,  1780,  says  he  is  literally  buried  in  snow  :  "  You 
cannot   conceive   how   much    we  are  distressed  for  wood. 

545 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  poorer  people  go  begging  continually  for  every  stick 
they  use,  and  many  of  the  better  sort  are  under  a  necessity 
of  keeping  but  one  fire ;  some  I  know  who  have  burnt 
chairs,  hogsheads,  barrels,  chests  of  drawers,  etc.,  etc." 

Of  course,  imported  English  furniture  was  scarce  in 
New  England  while  the  fighting  lasted.  On  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  war,  however,  we  are  somewhat  surprised  to 
find  that  English  was  not  excluded  in  favour  of  French 
furniture  entirely  when  the  native  wares  were  not  consid- 
ered sufficiently  fashionable.  We  have  already  seen  that 
the  cabinet-makers  in  the  region  between  Boston  and 
Newburyport  made  all  the  furniture  in  ordinary  use  there, 
and  that  they  kept  modest  stocks.  Before  1800,  however, 
we  find  much  longer  lists  of  goods  finished  and  unfinished 
on  hand  at  the  owner's  death.  One  of  the  richest  mem- 
bers of  this  craft  was  Samuel  Phippen  of  Salem,  who  died 
in  1798,  leaving  an  estate  of  $7,888.77.  His  inventory 
shows  the  very  varied  assortment  of  wares  that  were  then 
being  produced  by  the  native  makers,  and,  therefore,  it  is 
worth  reproducing. 

No.  I  :  48  birch  chairs  at  80c.,  a  number  of  chair  bows,  etc. 
25c.,  $38.65. 

No.  2.  6  mahogany  chairs  at  $1.10,  24  birch  chairs  at  80c., 
$25. 80;  26  bow  back  chairs,  not  painted,  at  75c.,  six  dining  chairs, 
at  80c.,  $24.30 ;  one  round  birch  chair,  80c. ;  5  common  and  i 
trundle  bedstead,  $6.00. 

No.  3  :  2^  plain  dining  chairs,  at  80c.,  $28.80;  one  easy  chair, 
$1.00;  one  necessary,  $1.00,  $2.00;  2  large  birch  chairs,  at  50c., 
$1.00  ;  one  pine  case  with  drawers.  Shop,  three  unfinished  desks, 
$3.00;  one  birch  desk,  brassed,  I5.00  ;  2  unfinished  bedsteads, 
$1.00;  2  cot  frames,  $1.50;  maple  boards,  $5.00;  20  chairs,  cot 
fi-ames,  4  ordinary  bedposts,  1 1  old  chairs  and  several  pieces  ma- 
hogany, $3.40. 

546 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

Front  Store:  2  walnut  cases  with  drawers,  $io.cx);  2  walnut 
desks,  1 1 0.00;  I  plain  mahogany  desk,  |6.oo ;  4  birch  desks, 
1 1 6.00;  I  cedar  desk,  ;?7.oo ;  5  cabin  tables,  I7.50;  i  birch  table, 
I2.CX);  1  round  table,  $2.00;  2  breakfast  tables,  I1.25  ;  i  chest, 
1 1. 00;  10  birch  chairs,  |ii.oo;  i  round  table,  |i.io;  4  fan  back 
chairs,  I4.00 ;  10  bow  backed  green  chairs,  |8.oo;  8  green  dining 
chairs,  $7.20. 

Front  Chamber :  3  birch  desks,  $  1 2.00 ;  2  birch  desks,  $  1 2.00; 
4  cedar  desks,  $28.00;  i  plain  mahogany,  |6.oo ;  3  mahogany 
stands,  I2.00 ;  8  birch  stands,  $2.50;  2  mahogany  stand  tables, 
|8.oo;  27  birch  chairs,  I33. 75;  4  trundle  bedsteads,  I3.50. 

Back  Store  Chamber:  34  bow  back  chairs,  $25.50;  i  mahog- 
any stand  table,  $4.00. 

Back  Store  :  4  swelled  mahogany  desks,  $60.00  ;  i  mahogany 
table,  $6.00;  2  mahogany  card  tables,  $10.00;  3  birch  tables, 
$4.00;  2  birch  stand  tables,  $4.00;  14  green  bow  back  chairs, 
$1 1.20  ;  24  bow  back  chairs,  not  painted,  $1 8.00  ;  20  dining  chairs, 
$18.00;   I  blue  chair,  $.50. 

No.  4:    I  bedstead,  3  chests,  i  table,  5  old  chairs,  $16.40. 

No.  5  :  I  cedar  post  bedstead,  $4.00 ;  i  case  with  drawers, 
$7.00;  I  bureau,  $4.00;  12  mahogany  chairs,  at  $1.50,  $18.00;  2 
birch  card  tables,  $2.50;  i  small  stand,  $1.00;  i  looking  glass, 
$3.00. 

No.  6:  I  swelled  mahogany  desk,  not  completed,  $18.00;  6 
birch  chairs,  at  $1.25,  $7.50;  7  dining  chairs,  $6.50;  i  blue  chair, 
$1.00 — $7.50. 

No.  7  :  I  mahogany,  desk  and  bookcase,  $23.00;  i  black  wal- 
nut case  with  drawers,  $1.25;  i  mahogany  desk  without  brasses, 
$18.00;  2  tables,  $6.00. 

No.  8:  6  birch  chairs,  $3.00;  2  bedsteads,  sacking  bottoms, 
$5.00;   I  cot,  sacking  bottom,  $1.00. 

No.  9:  I  desk  and  bookcase,  $15.00;  i  mahogany  side  table, 
$1.75;  2  tea  trays,  $1.00;  i  waiter,  $.15;  4  arm  and  3  dining 
chairs,  $2.45. 

No.  10:  I  clock,  $3.00;  I  maple  case  with  drawers,  $1.50 — 
$4.50;  1  small  stand,  a  table  and  tea-board,  $1.75;  i  pine  table, 

S47 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

folding,  boards,  etc. ;  horse  to  dry  clothes,  i  looking  glass,  40c. — 
$2.40. 

No.  II  :  Chair  bows,  etc.,  $24.75. 

The  merchant  marine  of  Salem  vastly  increased  after 
the  Revolution.  In  1786,  the  Grand  Turk  was  the  lirst 
New  England  ship  to  double  the  Cape  for  Canton,  and  in 
1 790  the  Astrea  was  the  first  to  bring  home  a  cargo  of  tea 
in  an  American  bottom.  In  1805,  Salem  had  forty-eight 
vessels  that  rounded  the  Cape.  After  the  war  of  1 8 1 2, 
forty-two  Indiamen  had  sailed,  and  sixteen  returned  by 
I  8  1 6.  In  I  8 1 7,  there  were  fifty-three  ;  and  in  i  8  2 1 ,  fifty- 
eight  ships  of  that  port  in  the  India  trade.  There  were, 
therefore,  many  wealthy  Salem  merchants. 

One  of  the  richest  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  Mr.  Elias  H.  Derby,  who  left  an  estate  of 
about  $200,000  in  1805.  His  possessions  will  give  an  idea 
of  a  luxurious  home  of  that  period. 

Gaining  admission  by  the  Lower  Entry,  the  visitor 
found  himself  in  a  commodious  hall  furnished  with  a  din- 
ing and  a  breakfast  table,  nine  chairs  covered  with  hair- 
cloth and  a  child's  chair.  Two  strips  of  carpeting,  and  a 
**  door-carpet "  were  on  the  floor,  and  six  pictures  on  the 
walls.  In  a  small  closet  were  some  cutlery,  china  and  glass. 
This  was  lighted  by  a  large  entry  lamp,  worth  thirty-five 
dollars,  and  communicated  with  four  rooms. 

The  principal  objects  in  the  Oval  room  were  fifteen 
chairs,  two  large  dining  tables,  a  floor-cloth  and  a  pair  of 
girandoles.  Another  room  contained  a  mahogany  table 
with  spare  leaves,  another  small  mahogany  table,  an  arm- 
chair covered  with  horsehair,  other  chairs  and  a  pair  of 
large  looking-glasses.     Six  gilded  cornices  with  cords,  gave 

S4« 


W 
Q 


^   ^ 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

a  finish  to  the  window  curtains.  A  brass  fender  was  in 
front  of  the  fire.  Among  the  ornaments  were  four  Chin- 
ese and  three  British  images ;  and  the  other  articles  listed 
are  two  knife-cases,  a  complete  set  of  Paris  china  (valued 
at  $230.00)  and  a  plate-warmer,  a  painted  and  a  tin  cooler, 
and  a  camera  obscura. 

The   Southeast    Parlour    was    furnished  with   a   large 
mahogany,  a  Pembroke  and  a  card-table  ;  a  sideboard,  gar- 


MAHOGANY    SOFA 

Owned  by  the   Rev.  Em  Ripley  (1777-1841),   afterwardi  by  Nathaniel   Hawthorne;   now  in  the 
rooms  ul'  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society,  Concord,  Mass.      See  page  $53. 

nished  with  two  knife-cases  containing  eight  silver  spoons, 
two  carving  knives  and  forks  and  eight  dozen  other  knives 
and  forks.  The  floor  was  covered  with  a  Brussels  carpet 
and  a  **  Door  Carpet."  The  fireplace  was  supplied  with 
brass  andirons,  shovel  and  tongs,  and  a  hearth-brush  and 
pair  of  bellows.  There  were  eight  mahogany  chairs  worth 
two  dollars  each,  two  **  lolling  "  and  two  Windsor  chairs 
with  arms.  Two  crickets,  five  tea-waiters  and  one  ma- 
hogany stand  were  also  in  this  room.  At  the  windows 
were  five  curtains  and  cornices.  A  closet  contained  china 
worth  $371 .00. 

549 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  Northwest  Parlour  contained  two  card-tables  and 
one  stand-table,  a  settee  with  horsehair  covering,  eight 
chairs  and  two  armchairs,  a  looking-glass  and  two  crick- 
ets. The  hearth  was  garnished  with  an  iron  back,  brass 
andirons,  a  shovel  and  pair  of  tongs,  and  a  brush  and  pair 
of  bellows.  The  windows  were  adorned  with  four  cur- 
tains and  cornices  ;  and  the  walls  with  a  picture  of  Mayor 
Pearson,  one  called  The  Woodman ,  and  two  on  copper.  A 
Brussels  carpet  was  on  the  floor. 

Going  up  the  carpeted  stairs,  the  middle  North,  the 
Northeast,  Northwest  and  Southwest  chambers  were 
reached.  The  former  was  used  as  a  store-room,  contain- 
ing two  bed-chairs,  a  bed-carpet,  two  boxes  of  glass,  one 
of  door-locks,  and  "  Entry-Wilton  carpet,"  a  case  of  bot- 
tles, a  box  of  composition  ornaments,  a  leather  portmanteau, 
a  small  tea-chest  and  caddy.  The  Southwest  Chamber  con- 
tained a  four-post  bedstead  with  bedding  and  furnishings, 
nine  chairs,  a  chest  of  drawers,  a  table,  and  a  looking-glass. 
The  hearth  was  supplied  with  shovel,  tongs,  andirons  and 
a  pair  of  bellows;  and  the  floor  with  a  Scotch  carpet. 

The  Northwest  Chamber  had  a  mahogany  commode, 
a  washhand-stand  and  basin,  a  dressing-glass,  a  looking- 
glass,  mahogany  chairs  and  one  easy-chair.  Five  pictures 
were  on  the  walls,  and  three  white  china  flower-pots  were 
additional  ornaments.  The  windows  were  shaded  by  four 
white  cotton  curtains  ;  and  on  the  hearth  were  brass  and- 
irons, shovel,  tongs  and  hearth-brush.  The  floor  was 
covered  with  a  Brussels  carpet.  The  most  valuable  object 
in  the  room  was  the  handsome  mahogany  four-post  bed- 
stead ($130.00),  with  curtains  and  bedding.  Two  rose 
blankets,  one  flannel  blanket,  a  damask  tablecloth  and  eigh- 
teen napkins  were  kept  in  this  room. 

550 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  furniture  of  the  Northeast  Chamber  comprised  a 
four-post  mahogany  bedstead  with  its  furnishings,  a  bu- 
reau, a  chest  of  drawers,  a  washhand-stand,  a  trunk,  six 
chamber  and  two  rocking-chairs.  Besides  a  kidderminster, 
there  was  also  a  bedside  carpet.  The  Hreplace  had  an 
iron  back,  a  fine  brass  fender,  and  steel  shovel  and  tongs. 

The  Southeast  Chamber  contained  a  fine  four-post 
bedstead  with  green  curtains  and  bedding  ($133.00),  two 
green  chairs,  and  eight  mahogany  chairs  with  silk  bot- 
toms, a  valuable  easy-chair  and  covering,  a  bureau,  a  chest- 
upon-chest  of  drawers,  a  stand-table  and  an  expensive  look- 
ing-glass. Other  objects  that  added  to  the  comfort  and 
elegance  of  this  apartment  were  a  Brussels  carpet,  two 
crickets,  two  Hower-pots,  brass  andirons,  bellows  and  steel 
shovel,  tongs  and  fender.  Closets  to  this  chamber  con- 
tained an  oval  looking-glass,  two  trunks  containing  flannel 
and  rose  blankets,  a  bedstead  and  bedding,  a  glass  lamp, 
two  bottle-stands,  sixteen  labels  for  decanters,  and  silver  plate 
to  the  value  of  $1,195.54. 

In  the  Southwest  Upper  Chamber  was  a  curtained  bed 
with  bedding. 

The  Northeast  Upper  Chamber  contained  two  bed- 
steads and  bedding  of  moderate  value,  two  small  carpets,  a 
looking-glass,  a  desk  and  bookcase,  a  table,  a  washhand- 
stand  and  six  chairs  covered  with  haircloth. 

The  Northwest  Upper  Chamber  had  its  floor  covered 
with  a  Wilton  carpet  and  two  strips  of  the  same.  Eight 
pictures  hung  on  the  walls,  and  brass  andirons  were  on  the 
hearth.  The  other  movables  comprised  a  looking-glass,  a 
dressing-glass,  a  washhand-vStand  basin  and  bottle,  a  bureau, 
six  chairs  with  covers  and  one  curtained  mahogany  bedstead 
and  bedding. 

55« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  Middle  South  Chamber  contained  a  round  tea- 
table,  a  chamber  table  and  drawers,  a  basket,  a  dressing- 
glass,  a  looking-glass,  four  chairs  covered  with  hair-cloth,  a 
bedstead   with   bedding  and  a  bedside  carpet. 

The  Southwest  Upper  Chamber  had  six  green  Windsor 
chairs,  two  semicircular  tables,  bedding  and  coverings,  two 
mahogany  bookcases  containing  about  770  volumes,  four 
trunks,  eight  pictures,  two  globes,  and  steel  tongs  and  shovel. 

In  the  Lantern  and  Garret  were  various  articles,  in- 
cluding a  telescope,  spinning-wheel,  trunk,  box  of  marble, 
two  picture-frames,  a  table,  set  of  china,  three  Venetian 
window  blinds,  and  two  mahogany  bird-cages. 

Over  the  Lower  Entry  was  the  Chamber  Entry.  This 
was  furnished  with  six  chamber  chairs,  two  armchairs,  and 
an  eight-day  clock.  Two  "Door-carpets"  and  thirty-one 
yards  of  "  entry  and  stair-carpeting "  covered  floor  and 
stairs.  The  walls  were  adorned  with  twelve  pictures.  A 
trunk  and  a  Sedan-chair  were  also  kept  here.  A  closet 
also  contained  some  plated  ware. 

In  the  Upper  Entry  was  a  trunk  containing  a  lot  of 
household  stuff,  including  eight  counterpanes,  a  suit  of  six 
damask  window  curtains  (valued  at  $200.00),  ditto  purple 
and  white,  ditto  blue  and  white,  two  red  and  white  sofa 
coverings,  eight  yellow  chair-bottom  covers,  six  patch  ditto, 
eight  white  Marseilles  ditto.  Two  bundles  of  bed-trim- 
mings, one  suit  of  harrateen  bed  curtains,  twenty-four 
yards  of  stair  carpet  for  the  upper  story,  and  one  old  Wil- 
ton carpet  completed  the  list. 

The  Eastern  Entry  was  used  as  a  kind  of  study ;  it 
contained  a  desk  and  bookcase  with  ninety-nine  miscella- 
neous volumes  and  a  Bible,  two  chairs,  a  wire  fire-fender, 
and  an  "entry  carpet." 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  kitchen  was  furnished,  among  other  objects,  with 
six  Windsor  chairs,  two  folding-tables,  and  a  mahogany  case. 
There  were  two  cellars  well  stored,  one  being  stocked 
with  Cape,  Constantia,  Madeira  and  Catalonia  wine. 


CONSOLE    TABLE 
Owned  by  Mr.  Robert  A.  Boit,  BoMon,  Man.     See  page  538. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Derby  owned  a  "  settee 
with  horsehair  covering,"  and  that  many  of  his  chairs  were 
also  upholstered  in  this  material.  A  sofa  or  a  settee  of  a 
kind  that  might  have  been  among  his  furniture  appears  on 
page  549.  The  frame  is  of  mahogany,  and  the  scroll 
arms  rest  upon  carved  pineapples.  The  covering  is  black 
horsehair.  This  sofa  belonged  to  the  Rev.  Ezra  Ripley 
(1777-1841)  and  was  afterwards  owned  by  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne.  It  is  now  in  the  rooms  of  the  Concord  An- 
tiquarian Society,  Concord,  Mass. 

5S3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  wealth  and  luxury  of  the  citizens  of  Salem  became 
the  talk  of  the  world,  in  i  8 1 7,  by  the  cruise  of  Cleopatra  s 
Barge,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  private  yacht 
ever  owned  by  an  American,  and  which  in  luxurious  ap- 
pointments remained  unsurpasvsed  till  a  comparatively  recent 
date.  This  boat  was  of  200  tons  burden,  and  was  built 
and  commanded  by  Captain  George  Crowninshield,  who 
in  partnership  with  his  brothers  had  amassed  a  large  for- 
tune during  the  war  of  1 8 1 2  by  the  successful  cruise  of 
their  privateer,  the  America.  He  sailed  from  Salem  in 
March,  1 8 1 7,  intending  to  go  round  the  world.  After 
touching  at  Fayal,  he  visited  the  chief  Spanish  and  Italian 
ports,  attracting  a  great  deal  of  attention,  and  entertaining 
and  being  entertained  by  many  European  notabilities.  His 
sole  travelling  companion,  to  whom  he  was  greatly  attached, 
fell  ill  at  Malta ;  he  therefore  immediately  sailed  for  home, 
and  arrived  at  Salem  in  November.  There  his  friend  suc- 
cumbed, and  Captain  George  died  of  the  shock  fifteen 
minutes  later. 

The  fame  of  Cleopatra  s  Barge  filled  all  the  newspapers 
of  the  day ;  and  everybody  was  talking  of  her  unparalleled 
richness  and  elegance.  The  Salem  Gazette  of  January  14, 
I  8 17,  contains  a  notice  of  the  yacht,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  taken  : 

**  You  descend  into  a  magnificent  saloon  about  20  feet 
long  and  1 9  broad,  finished  on  all  sides  with  polished  ma- 
hogany, inlaid  with  other  ornamental  wood.  The  settees 
of  the  saloon  are  of  splendid  workmanship  ;  the  backs  are 
shaped  like  the  ancient  lyre,  and  the  seats  are  covered  with 
crimson  silk-velvet,  bordered  with  a  very  wide  edging  of 
gold  lace.  Two  splendid  mirrors,  standing  at  either  end, 
and  a  magnificent  chandelier,  suspended  in  the  centre  of 

554 


CABIN  p:t 

Caned  by  Mr.  J  oh  n  Lord  Hayes;  outtud  by  Miss  Hayes,  Cambridge,  Mass.  See  pagess^- 


THK   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

the  saloon,  give  a  richness  of  effect  to  it,  not  easily  sur- 
passed." 

Other  accounts  supply  the  following  additional  details: 
**The  chandelier  cost  Si  50.00.  The  sofas  in  the  cabin 
were  of  mahogany  and  bird's-eye  maple,  and  measured 
eleven  feet  in  length.  The  lyres  forming  the  back  were 
strung  with  thick  brass  wire.  The  cost  of  these  sofas 
amounted  to  $400.00.  The  beams  of  the  ceiling  in  the 
saloon  were  edged  with  gold  beading ;  for  the  greater  safety 
of  the  passengers  when  the  yacht  rolled,  two  ropes  were 
strung  along  the  walls  :  these  were  covered  with  red  silk 
velvet  twisted  with  gold  cord.  A  luxurious  Brussels  car- 
pet was  on  the  floor  :  the  colours  were  orange  and  brown 
mixed  with  green. 

"  On  either  side  of  the  gilt-framed  mirrors  was  a  lamp 
and  a  gilded  eagle.  In  the  walls,  columns  with  gilded 
capitals  alternated  with  cupboards,  through  the  glass  doors 
of  which  gleamed  costly  china.  Captain  George  took 
great  pains  in  arranging  this  to  the  best  advantage ;  and 
also  took  great  pride  in  his  table-linen,  glass,  and  rich 
silver  plate.  The  latter  included  a  splendid  tea-urn,  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  height,  with  a  lamp  underneath ; 
and  a  thick  sugar-bowl  and  cream-jug  to  match.  The 
bedroom  was  also  luxuriously  appointed  ;  the  bed  had  rich 
variegated  yellow  hangings,  full  curtains  and  handsome 
fringe."  Among  the  furniture  of  this  yacht  were  three 
chairs,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Edward  C.  Pickering,  of  the 
Observatory,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  having  descended  to  her 
through  the  Crowninshield  family.  One  of  these  appears 
on  page  557,  it  is  of  the  variety  known  as  the  **  Fancy 
Chair,"  with  painted  back,  rush-bottom  and  gilded  ball 
ornaments. 

sss 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

We  have  seen  that  cabinet-making  was  sometimes  the 
occupation  of  amateurs,  and  we  have  drawn  a  little  atten- 
tion to  carvers  that  came  here  from  abroad.  A  very  fine 
example  of  amateur  modern  carving  faces  page  554.  This 
is  the  work  of  Mr.  John  Lord  Hayes,  L.L.  D.,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  whose  house  is  filled  with  other  productions 
of  his  that  are  equally  remarkable,  including  mantel-pieces, 
chairs,  frames  for  mirrors,  etc.  Mr.  Hayes  merely  carved 
for  pastime  and  slightingly  alluded  to  it  as  his  **  knitting- 
work."  These  articles  are  now  owned  by  his  sons  and 
daughters,  in  Cambridge,  Mass. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Philadelphia  had  many  opu- 
lent citizens  whose  houses  were  furnished  in  accordance 
with  the  dictates  of  Fashion  long  before  the  Revolution. 
Du  Simitiere  gives  a  list  of  eighty-four  families  that  kept 
equipages  in  1772.  There  was  quite  a  local  aristocracy  in 
which  the  Shippens,  Willings  and  Binghams  were  promi- 
nent. When  the  city  was  occupied  by  the  British,  many  of 
the  citizens  departed  with  their  effects,  while  others  stayed 
behind  and  entered  into  the  gaieties  of  the  British  and 
German  officers.  The  most  famous  festival  of  the  period 
was  an  entertainment  given  in  1 778  by  his  officers  to  Lord 
Howe  on  his  retiring  from  command.  This  has  left  some- 
what sombre  memories  by  the  fact  that  one  of  the  princi- 
pal invited  belles.  Miss  Margaret  Shippen,  afterwards  mar- 
ried Benedict  Arnold  ;  and  that  Major  Andre  had  charge 
of  the  decorations  and  ornaments.  This  Tory  pageant  and 
ball  was  a  strange  medley  called  The  Mischian-zdy  and  took 
place  at  the  Wharton  House.  There  were  Ladies  of  the 
Blended  Rose  and  Ladies  of  the  Burning  Mountain,  all 
with  attendant  Knights.  Andre  wrote  a  description  of  it 
for  the  Genttemetis  Magazine  {\jj%).     A  short  account  of 

556 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

this  entertainment  may  be  quoted  from  a  contemporary  de- 
scription, as  it  will  serve  as  a  picture  of  gala  decorations 
during  the  Revolution. 


"  FANCY  "  CHAIR,  FROM  "  CLEOPATRA's    BARGE  ** 
Now  owned  by  Mr*.  Edward  C.  Pickering,  Obfervatory,  Cambridge,  Mass.      See  page  555. 

*'  Upon  the  opening  of  two  folding  doors,  we  entered 
a  large  Hall,  in  length  about  thirty,  in  breadth  twenty  feet, 
elegantly  illuminated  with  spermaceti.  The  rioor  was  cov- 
ered with  green  baize.  On  each  side  of  the  Hall  were 
long  tables  with  benches,  covered  also  with  green  baize. 
Each  of  these  tables  was  set  off  with  a  service  of  elegant 
china,  and  tea,  coffee,  and  various  kinds  of  cakes.  The  ceil- 
ings and  sides  of  the  Hall  were  adorned  with  paintings, 

557 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and  on  each  side  were  two  large  rooms  ornamented  in  like 
manner.  Over  each  chimney  was  painted  a  large  cornu- 
copia full  of  flowers ;  and  over  each  door  an  empty  cornu- 
copia inverted.  As  soon  as  tea  and  coffee  were  over,  the 
knights,  dulcineas,  and  most  of  the  company  went  up  stairs 
into  a  large  entry  elegantly  painted,  in  which  hung  many 
mirrors,  whose  frames  were  covered  with  silk  entwined 
and  decorated  with  bows,  roses,  etc.  Between  each  of  these 
mirrors  were  three  spermaceti  candles  in  sconces,  adorned 
with  gauze,  silk,  etc.  The  rooms  on  each  side  of  the  entry 
were  ornamented  in  the  same  manner.  Over  the  staircase 
was  an  orchestra,  in  which  was  a  band  of  music.  When 
the  company  was  come  up,  the  dulcineas  danced  first  with 
the  knights,  and  then  with  the  squires;  and  after  them  the 
rest  of  the  company  danced.  In  several  of  the  rooms  were 
tables  with  punch,  sangaree,  wine,  cakes,  etc.  At  half 
after  ten  o'clock,  the  windows  were  thrown  open,  and 
an  elegant  firework  was  exhibited.  Towards  the  con- 
clusion the  triumphal  arch,  next  to  the  house,  appeared 
magnificently  illuminated,  and  Fame  blew  from  her 
trumpet  in  letters  of  light,  these  words :  "  Tes  Lauriers 
sont  wwiortels." 

"After  the  firework  the  company  returned,  some  to  danc- 
ing, and  others  to  a  faro  bank,  which  was  opened  by  three 
German  officers  in  one  of  the  parlours.  The  company  con- 
tinued dancing  and  playing  till  twelve  o'clock,  when  we 
were  called  to  supper,  and  two  folding  doors  at  the  end  of 
the  Hall  being  thrown  open,  we  entered  a  room  200  feet 
long.  The  floor  was  covered  with  painted  canvas ;  the 
roof  and  sides  hung  with  paintings  and  ornamented  with 
fifty  large  mirrors.  From  the  roof  hung  twelve  lustres, 
with  twenty   spermaceti   candles   in    each.      In  this  room 

55« 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


two  tables  reached  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  On  each  side  were  recesses  with 
sideboards  in  which  were  all  kinds  ol" 
liquors.  On  the  two  tables  were  fifty 
large  elegant  pyramids,  with  jellies, 
syllabubs,  cakes  and  sweetmeats.  The 
supper  was  entirely  cold,  except  several 
tureens  of  soup;  and  consisted  of  chick- 
ens, lamb,  buttered  ham,  Yorkshire 
pies,  veal,  variously  prepared,  puddings, 
etc.  Twenty-four  negro  men  attended 
the  tables  in  white  shirts  with  blue  silk 
sashes,  silk  turbans,  tin  collars  and 
bracelets.  The  company  that  sat  down 
to  supper  were  four  hundred.** 

The  mirror  shown  on  this  page  was 
one  of  those  mentioned  above.  It  is  of 
mahogany  with  ornaments  carved  and 
gilt.  The  illustration  gives  no  idea  of  its  size,  which  is 
VA  by  3  feet. 

One  of  the  finest  homes  in  Philadelphia  was  that  of 
Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of  the  Revolution.  The 
Prince  de  Broglie's  narrative  (1782)  says:  "  M.  de  la  Lu- 
zerne conducted  me  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Morris  to  take 
tea.  She  is  the  wife  of  the  Financier  of  the  United  States. 
The  house  is  simple,  but  neat  and  proper.  The  doors  and 
tables  are  of  superb  mahogany,  and  polished.  The  locks 
and  trimmings  are  of  brass,  charmingly  bright.  The  porce- 
lain cups  were  arranged  with  great  precision.  The  mis- 
tress of  the  house  had  an  agreeable  expression,  and  was 
dressed  entirely  in  white.  I  got  some  excellent  tea,  and  I 
think   that  I  should  still  be  drinking  it,  if  the  ambassador 

559 


MAHOGANY    AND   GILT 

MIRROR 

Utcd  at  the  fete  of  the  Ml»- 
chianxa,  177^;  now  owned  by 
the  FhiUdelphia  Library  Com- 
pany. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

had  not  charitably  warned  me,  when  I  had  taken  the 
twelfth  cup,  that  I  must  put  my  spoon  across  my  cup  when- 
ever I  wanted  this  species  of  torture  by  hot  water  to  stop, 
since,  said  he  to  me,  *  It  is  almost  as  bad  manners  to  refuse 
a  cup  of  tea  when  it  is  offered  to  you,  as  it  would  be  in- 
discreet for  the  mistress  of  the  house  to  offer  you  more 
when  the  ceremony  of  the  spoon  has  shown  what  your 
wishes  are  in  this  matter.'  " 

The  Marquis  de  Chastellux  also  says  that  his  house  is 
"  handsome,  resembling  perfectly  the  houses  of  London. 
He  lives  there  without  ostentation,  but  not  without  ex- 
pense ;  for  he  spares  nothing  which  can  contribute  to  his 
happiness  and  that  of  Mrs.  Morris,  to  whom  he  is  much 
attached."  The  translator  adds  :  "  The  house  the  Marquis 
speaks  of,  in  which  Mr.  Morris  lives,  belonged  formerly  to 
Mr.  Richard  Penn.  The  Financier  has  made  great  additions 
to  it,  and  is  the  first  who  has  introduced  the  luxury  of  hot- 
houses and  ice-houses  on  the  continent.  He  has  likewise 
purchased  the  elegant  country-house  formerly  occupied  by 
the  traitor  Arnold ;  nor  is  his  luxury  to  be  outdone  by  any 
commercial  voluptuary  of  London." 

Mr.  Lowell,  of  Boston,  and  H.  G.  Otis  visited  Morris 
in  1783.  Otis  records  in  his  description  that  they  "dined 
with  thirty  persons  in  a  style  of  voluptuous  magnificence 
which  I  have  never  seen  equalled." 

Manasseh  Cutler  mentions  Morris's  country-seat.  The 
Hillsy  on  the  Schuylkill,  in  1787.  It  was  unfinished  then, 
although  Morris  bought  it  in  1770.  Later  it  was  named 
Lemon  Hill.  During  the  Revolution,  he  lived  on  Front 
Street ;  and,  in  1785,  bought  some  property  on  High  Street 
with  the  ruins  of  the  Penn  house,  which  he  rebuilt.  This 
was  considered  the  handsomest  house  in    Philadelphia.      It 

560 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

was  of  brick,  and  three  stories  high.  When  the  Govern- 
ment removed  to  Philadelphia,  he  gave  up  the  house. 
The  city  made  it  the  official  residence,  and  here  Washing- 
ton lived.    (See  page  512.)     In  179 1,  Morris  lived  on  the 


SECRETARY 


Owftrd  by  Judge  Joel  Jonea  of  PhiUdelphia,  ttow  by  hit  too,  the  Rev.  John  Sparhawk  Jones,  Phila* 
•iriphia.      See  page  567. 


corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  Streets.  In  1795,  he  bought 
a  square  bounded  by  Chestnut,  Walnut,  Seventh  and  Eighth 
Streets  for  j^'i 0,000,  and  charged  Major  L'Enfant  to  build 
him  a  mansion.  This  was  begun  in  1795,  and  continued 
to    1800.        It    was   never    finished.      This  was  known   as 

561 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

"  Morris's  Folly,"  and  was  built  of  brick  with  window  and 
door  ornamentations  of  pale  blue  stone.  Morris's  luxury 
excited  much  criticism;  in  1796,  Callender  wrote:  "A 
person  is  just  now  building,  at  an  enormous  expense,  a  pal- 
ace in  Philadelphia.  His  bills  have  long  been  in  the  mar- 
ket at  eighteen  pence  or  a  shilling  per  pound.  This  is  the 
condition  of  our  laws  for  the  recovery  of  millions.  At 
the  same  time  the  prison  at  Philadelphia  is  crowded 
with  tenants,  many  of  whom  are  indebted  only  in  petty 
sums." 

Morris  died  in  1806.  Facing  page  458  and  page  472 
are  shown  two  specimens  of  furniture  that  belonged  to 
him,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  these  are  of  styles  that  had 
not  long  been  in  fashion. 

Another  very  wealthy  Philadelphian  was  William  Bing- 
ham, who  was  senator  from  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Bingham 
was  famous  for  her  beauty,  her  influence  and  the  elegance 
of  her  home.  About  1784,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bingham  went 
to  Europe.  She  was  presented  at  the  Court  of  Louis  XVI., 
went  to  The  Hague,  and  attracted  attention  at  the  Court  of 
George  III.  They  remained  five  years  in  Europe,  and 
studied  the  dwellings  in  London  and  Paris  to  find  a  model 
for  their  Philadelphia  home.  They  chose  the  house  of 
the  Duke  of  Manchester.  Their  home,  on  Third  Street, 
above  Spruce,  was  considered  superb.  Open  ironwork 
gates  guarded  the  carriage-way  and  the  garden  of  three 
acres  was  enclosed  behind  a  low  wall.  The  hall  was  noted 
for  its  broad  marble  stairway.  Much  of  the  furniture,  in- 
cluding the  carpets,  was  made  in  France. 

Wanzey  gives  the  following  description  in   1 794 : 

"I  dined  this  day  with  Mr.  Bingham,  to  whom  I  had 
a  letter  of  introduction.      I  found  a  magnificent  house  and 

562 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

gardens  iii  the  best  English  taste,  with  elegant  and  even 
superb  furniture.  The  chairs  of  the  drawing-room  were 
from  Seddon's  in  London,  of  the  newest  taste;  the  back  in 
the  form  of  a  lyre,  with  festoons  of  crimson  and  yellow  silk. 


MAHOGANY    CHAIR 
From  the  Library  of  Napoleon  I.,  at  Malmaison ;  given  by  Louii  Philippe  to  the  Marquis  de  Mar- 
igny,  New  Orlrani,  La.      See  page  567-8. 


The  curtains  of  the  room  a  festoon  of   the  same.     The 
carpet  one  of  Mviore's  most  expensive  patterns. 

**The  room  was  papered  in  the  French  taste,  after  the 
style  of  the  V^atican  at  Rome.  In  the  garden  was  a  pro- 
fusion of  lemon,  orange  and  citron  trees;  and  many  aloes 
and  other  exotics." 

5*1 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Mr.  Bingham'vS  ways  did  not  accord  with  the  ideas  of 
Republican  simplicity  that  were  in  favour  with  so  many  of 
his  countrymen.  To  some  of  his  guests,  the  ceremony  ob- 
served at  his  receptions  was  even  more  objectionable  than 
his  display  of  wealth.      Breck  complains  : 

"  The  forms  at  his  house  were  not  suited  to  our  man- 
ners. I  was  often  at  his  parties,  at  which  each  guest  was 
announced ;  first,  at  the  entrance-door  his  name  was  called 
aloud,  and  taken  up  by  a  servant  on  the  stairs,  who  passed 
it  on  to  the  man-in-waiting  at  the  drawing-room  door.  In 
this  drawing-room  the  furniture  was  superb  Gobelin,  and 
the  folding-doors  were  covered  with  mirrors,  which  re- 
flected the  figures  of  the  company,  so  as  to  deceive  an  un- 
travelled  countryman,  who,  having  been  paraded  up  the 
marble  stairway  amid  the  echoes  of  his  name — ofttimes 
made  very  ridiculous  by  the  manner  in  which  the  servants 
pronounced  it — would  enter  the  brilliant  apartment  and 
salute  the  looking-glasses  instead  of  the  master  and  mistress 
of  the  house  and  their  guests." 

Philadelphia  was  especially  happy  in  having  citizens 
who  could  help  the  government  financially  in  critical 
times.  Examples  of  the  furniture  of  Stephen  Girard,  who 
rendered  such  valuable  services  during  the  war  of  1812, 
have  already  been  given  on  page  454  and  page  529.  Two 
other  specimens  of  his  possessions  face  page  556.  The 
table  top  is  painted  with  brilliant  colours ;  the  chair  is 
mahogany,  of  about  1780. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  settled  in  Philadelphia  about  18 15, 
and  after  having  lived  in  the  city  and  at  Lansdowne,  the 
home  of  the  Binghams,  he  bought  eighteen  hundred  acres 
on  the  Delaware  River,  near  Bordentown,  N.  J.  Here  he 
built  a  magnificent  house,  known  as  Point  Breeze,  where  he 

564 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

dwelt  for  fourteen  years.  The  house  was  brick  covered 
with  white  plaster,  and  had  a  long  sloping  roof  with  high 
dormer  windows  and  broad  doorways  flanked  by  wooden 
columns.  The  interior  was  beautifully  adorned  with  deli- 
cately sculptured  marble  mantel-pieces,  rich  tapestries,  rare 


EMPIRE    CHAIR 
Owned  by  PrcHdent  Munroe ;  now  by  Min  Elizabeth  Byrd  Nicholas,  Wathington,  D.  C.     See  page  568. 

furniture  and  valuable  paintings,  some  of  which  had  been 
given  to  Joseph  by  Cardinal  F'esch.  The  grounds  were 
laid  out  by  landscape  gardeners  brought  from  Europe. 

We  can  gain  a  glimpse  of  this  handsome  estate  and  of 
its  host  from  Levasseur's  Lafayette  in  America  : 

"Gen.  Lafayette  went  in  a  carriage  with  the  governor 
and  one  of  his  aids  without  escort  or   parade  to  Borden- 

565 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

town,  the  residence  of  Joseph  Bonaparte.  The  Ex-King 
appeared  much  affected  by  the  visit  of  the  nation's  guest. 
He  detained  us  to  dinner,  and  introduced  us  to  his  family. 
Before  dinner  was  served,  Joseph  withdrew  in  company 
with  Lafayette  to  his  cabinet,  and  remained  there  for  more 
than  an  hour.  After  dinner,  of  which  Madame  de  Musig- 
nano  did  the  honours  with  much  amiableness,  we  found  the 
gardens  and  yards  crowded  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  vi- 
cinity, who  brought  their  children  to  receive  the  benedic- 
tion of  the  patriarch  of  liberty.  Joseph  himself  with 
eagerness  ordered  the  doors  to  be  thrown  open,  and  in  an 
instant  the  apartments  were  filled  by  the  enthusiastic  mul- 
titude. It  was  a  truly  striking  picture  to  behold  these 
good  American  villagers  under  the  rich  ceilings  of  such  a 
mansion.  Although  their  eyes  were  unaccustomed  to  all 
the  splendours  of  a  regal  establishment,  they  stopped  not 
to  dwell  upon  the  beautiful  productions  of  the  French  and 
Italian  schools,  nor  upon  ihe  bronzes  and  exquisite  statuary 
of  which  these  apartments  are  adorned  with  elegant  profus- 
ion ;  it  was  Lafayette  alone  that  they  wished  to  see,  and 
after  having  seen  him,  they  retired  satisfied  and  as  if  inca- 
pable of  noticing  anything  else. 

"  Time  flew  rapidly  during  this  visit,  and  the  Governor 
of  New  Jersey  was  obliged  to  remind  the  general  that  we 
had  only  time  enough  to  reach  Trenton  before  night.  We 
immediately  set  out.  Joseph  and  his  family  wished  to  ac- 
company the  General  a  part  of  the  way  ;  we  divided  the 
carriages  which  were  prepared  for  us  and  slowly  traversed 
the  large  and  beautiful  property,  the  peaceful  possession  of 
which  appeared  to  me  far  preferable  to  that  of  the  troub- 
led Kingdom  of  Spain." 

The  handsome  Empire   console  table  facing  page  548 

566  ^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

is  one  of  a  pair  that  were  in  Joseph  Bonaparte's  house  that 
we  have  just  described.  These  tables  were  purchased  by 
Judge  Joseph  Hopkinson  of  Philadelphia,  son  of  Francis 
Hopkinson,  the  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Judge  Hopkinson  was  for  many  years  a  contidential  friend 
of  Bonaparte's  and  managed  his  estates  for  him  whenever 
he  was  absent  from  America.  He  presented  Judge  Hop- 
kinson with  a  valuable  painting  of  still  life  by  Snyders  that 
hangs  over  this  table.  The  candelabra  on  the  table  be- 
longed also  to  Bonaparte.  These  relics  are  now  the  prop- 
erty of  Mr.  Oliver  Hopkinson  of  Philadelphia,  who  also 
owns  the  articles  that  face  page  560.  The  gray  marble 
table  was  a  present  from  Caroline  Bonaparte  to  Judge 
Joseph  Hopkinson,  and  the  superb  set  of  plum-coloured  and 
gold  Sevres  standing  upon  it  belonged  to  Joseph  Bonaparte. 
The  chair  to  the  left  of  the  table  is  of  the  form  known 
as  **  the  Trafalgar."  The  back  is  beautifully  inlaid  with 
brass.  The  chair  on  the  right  is  of  a  style  belonging  to 
about  1825.  Another  piece  of  furniture  associated  with 
Joseph  Bonaparte  appears  on  page  529. 

The  handsome  mahogany  secretary  on  page  561,  is  a 
Philadelphia  piece  adorned  with  brass  escutcheons  and  the 
hgure  of  an  eagle  and  burning  torches  of  brass.  This  be- 
longed to  Judge  Joel  Jones  of  Philadelphia,  and  is  now 
owned  by  his  son,  the  Rev.  John  Sparhawk  Jones  of  that 
city. 

An  example  of  a  heavy  and  unattractive  chair  appears 
on  page  563.  It  came  from  the  library  of  Napoleon  I.  at 
Malmaisofi  and  was  given  by  Louis  Philippe  to  the  Mar- 
quis de  Marigny  of  New  Orleans.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  old  jar-shaped  splat,  but  very  uglv  in  form,  reappears 
beneath  the  slightly  curved  and  cumbrous  top-rail.       This 

567 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

model,  which  is  of   mahogany,  survived  many   years,  and 
similar  examples,  therefore,  exist  in  large  numbers. 

A  better  style  occurs  on  page  565.  This  was  one  of  a 
set  consisting  of  two  sofas,  twelve  chairs,  and  two  ottomans. 
These  were  brought  to  this  country  by  President  Monroe 
from  Paris.  The  wood  was  hard  yellow  picked  out  with 
gold,  and  the  female  figure  and  the  scrollwork  were 
bronze.  The  covering  was  sky  blue  satin  with  yellow 
cording  around  the  cushions.  This  chair,  now  belonging 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Byrd  Nicholas  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
was  purchased  by  Judge  Philip  Norbonne  Nicholas  of 
Richmond,  Va.,  from  Mr.  Monroe  in  Virginia  after  Mr. 
Monroe's  return  from  Paris,  where  he  used  the  set.  The 
characteristics  of  Empire  furniture  will  be  described  in  the 
next  chapter. 


THE  FURNITURE 

OF  OUR  ^^if 

FOREFATHERS 


THE    FURNITURE 

OF    OUR 

FOREFATHERS 


By  ESTHER  SINGLETON 

WITH  CRJTICAL  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  PLATES 
By  RUSSELL  STURGIS 


ILLUSTRATED 


s::g3Ks::s:s?c2r:;^:^;c^^:sr:^::scsc: 


t^ZK<3:        PART  VIII 


::s::s::s::sr::s:s 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 
19       13 


COPYRIGHT,   1901,  BY 
DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE    &   CO. 

NOVEMBER,    19O! 


CONTENTS 


Styles  of  the  Early  Nineteenth  Century      571—57^ 

Changes  effected  by  the  French  Revolution,  571;  origin  of  the 
Empire  style,  572-3;  Grecian  models,  573-4i  decorations 
and  draperies,  574-5;  the  Gothic  style,  575-6;  decorations 
and  draperies,  578. 

Gothic  Designs  in  Oak   and  Mahogany 
Contemporary  Examples    . 


579-580 
581-582 


Pianos  .......      582-585 

Examples  made  by  Astor  and  Loud,  582;  definition  of  the 
spinet  and  the  virginal,  582;  the  harpsichord,  582-4;  popu- 
larity and  improvements  of  the  pianoforte,  584—5. 

Woods  Used  in  Cabinet-Making         .  .     585-600 

Interior  woodwork,  585-6;  woods  used  by  carvers  and  cabi- 
net-makers, 586—7;  European  and  exotic  woods,  587-9; 
ebony,  589-90;  story  of  the  introduction  of  mahogany, 
591-2;  fame  of  Spanish  wares,  592;  examples  of  Spanish 
work,  592-3  ;  quotation  from  a  Spanish  book  establishing  the 
age  of  mahogany,  593  ;  use  of  mahogany  by  the  Dutch,  Eng- 
lish and  French,  594;  descriptions  of  mahc^any,  594-6; 
Chippendale's  indifference  to  mahogany,  the  use  of  mahog- 
any by  Adam  and  Heppelwhite,  and  Sheraton  on  mahogany, 
596 ;  the  Regent's  cabinet-maker  on  woods,  597  ;  importa- 
tion and  sales  of  mahogany  in  the  United  States,  597-8  ;  native 
woods,  599-600. 

American  Cabinet-Makers         .  .  .     601-605 

Boston  cabinet-makers,  601-2;  Baltimore  cabinet-makers, 
chair-makers  and  upholsterers,  602-3  »  Charleston  cabinet- 
makers, 604 ;  New  York  cabinet-makers,  chair-makers  and 
upholsterers,  604-5. 


CONTENTS 


An    Englishman    on    Amkrican     Cabi.vf.t-Work 

606 

Price    of  woods,    606  ;  cut  glass  ornaments    606  ;  cabinet- 
shops  and  chair-making,  609. 

Philadelphia  Cabinet-Makers  .  .612 

The  Cabinet-Maker's  Book  op^  Prices 


-610 


613 
621 
626 


•  613- 
Sham  Antique  Furniture     .    .    .   623- 

Tricks  of  the  trade,  623-4  ;  necessary  study  for  the  amateur 
collector,  624-6. 

Names  of  Great  Cabinet-Makers  Generic     627-628 

Prolific  use  of  designs  by  contemporaries,  627  ;  Sheraton's  de- 
tails of  construction,  628. 

Importance  OF  Upholstery         .  .  .     628-631 

Furniture  dependent  upon  draperies  for  effect,  628-9  >  diffi- 
culties of  cutting  out  and  festooning,  629-31. 

Materials  Used  for  Upholstery        .  .     631-637 

The  Chair  ......     637-641 

Materials  used  for  upholstery,  637  ;  Chippendale's  instruc- 
tions for  covering  his  chairs,  and  their  dimensions,  638; 
proportions  of  Heppelwhite's  chairs  and  their  correct  cover- 
ings, 638—9;  Sheraton's  chairs,  639;  the  "  Fancy  Chair" 
and  its  makers,  640-1  ;    the  "  Trafalgar  Chair,"  641-2. 

The  Heppelwhite  Sofa  and  Window  Stool     642-644 
The  Sheraton  Sofa     .....  644 

The  Bed      .......     645-654 

Materials  used  for  draperies,  645—6 ;  Chippendale's  Beds, 
646-7  ;  the  Field-bed,  647—8  ;  Heppelwhite's  Beds,  648-50 ; 
Sheraton's  Beds,  650-2  ;  the  Empire  Bed  and  the  "  English 
Bed,"  652-3  i  the  "French  Bed,"  653-4. 

Examples  of  Contemporary  Furniture     .      654-655 


J^^^mJ  List  of  Illustrations 


WITH      CRITICAL      NOTES      ON      MANY     OF 
THE        PLATES        BY       RUSSELL       STURGIS 


ALL    THE    NOTES    FURNISHED    BY    MR.    STUBOU 
ARE    rOLLOWCD    BY    HIS   SIGNATURE. 


PACE 

FACiNc;   iii 


Frontispiece  Settee 

The  senee,  or  double  armchair,  was  a  favourite  design  of  the  Chippendale  school.  The 
cnc  represented  here  is  of  mahogany, — bold,  massive  and  handsome.  It  is  the  product  of 
some  English  cabinet-maker  who  worked  in  the  Chippendale  school.  The  settee  rests  on 
six  cabriole  legs  and  the  front  three  end  in  volutes  instead  of  the  ball-and-claw,  as  do  those 
facing  pages  434  and  438.  The  arms  are  carved  and  are  raised  to  a  comfortable  height. 
The  side  raib  arc  curved,  as  is  also  the  top,  which  is  ornamented  with  rosettes  and  leaves. 
The  two  splats  are  reminiscent  of  a  somewhat  bulky  Chinese  jar,  but  are  lightened  by  a 
Krolling  band  gracefully  twisted,  and  are  decorated  further  with  a  cord  and  rosettes.  The 
seat  is  stuffed  and  covered  with  beautiful  printed  velvet  fastened  with  a  row  of  brass  nails, 
below  which  runs  a  delicate  band  of  ornate  carving  in  the  form  of  flowers  and  leaves  ter- 
minating in  rosettes.     E.  S. 

Porcelain   Cabinet  ....   facing 

Shallow  cabinet  adorned  with  relatively  large  plaques  of  painted  porcelain  with  the  mount- 
ingt  and  frames  of  the  panels  and  the  large  colonnettes  which  form  the  uprights  probably 
in  porcelain  also,  for  such  accessories  were  often  made  in  the  eighteenth  century  by 
firing  and  pinting  small  cylinders  and  rings  adorned  with  relief  ornaments  and  then  mount- 
ing them  upon  a  stout  iron  rod  lik^  beads  upon  a  string  so  that  the  appearance  of  a  column 
of  solid  porcelain  was  not  badly  rendered.  This  piece  in  dark  wood  and  with  all  its  fitrings 
and  mountings  of  painted  ceramic  ware  of  fine  quality  is  of  necessity  a  most  effective  and 
bnlltant  piece.     The  painted  decoration  seems  to  be  monochromatic.      R.  Sturgis. 

Empirf  Sofa  ....... 

This  sofa,  upholstered  in  a  brocade  of  varied  colours,  is  of  fine  proportions.  The  mounts 
ornamenting  it  are  particularly  handsome,  notably  the  dolphin  which  follows  gracefully  the 
outhnc  of  the  scrolled  ends.  In  one  of  Sheraton's  plates  in  his  Cabinet  Diciiomary  (Lon- 
don, 1 803  )  he  makes  use  of  the  dolphin  in  almost  this  identical  manner.  The  dolphin  is 
of  very  frequent  occurrence  during  the  Louis  Seize  period.  It  was  regarded  by  the  ancients 
a^the  king  of  fishes  and  is  the  symbol  of  rruritime  supremacy.  The  dolphin  is  used  in  ex- 
actly the  same  way  on  a  sofa  facing  page  $10,  but  here  it  b  boldly  carved.  Dolphins  alto 
occur  on  the  mirror  facing  page  500.      £.  S. 


Louis  XVI.  Vitrine 


Bookcase  in  which  the  free  use  of  gilded  metal  used  in  contrast  with  smcx>th  and  pol- 
ished dark  wood  b  the  only  motive  of  adornment.  Beyond  that  the  severe  simplicity  of 
the  parts  b  what  makes  the  piece  attractive.  Nor  b  such  a  combination  of  rather  bril- 
liant colour  with  a  simple  general  design  at  all  inadequate  for  the  purpose.  The  piece  b 
of  the  refined  and  constrained  character  of  design  which  came  to  America  direct  firom 
France  in  the  days  of  the  active  sympathy  taken  by  the  French  in  our  English  colooies. 
R.  StuTfb. 


57^ 


573 


facing    574 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Lady's  Escritoire        ....  facing    575 

Cabinet  standing  upon  a  tabic.  A  very  smaii  piece  of  extreme  delicacy  and  refinement  of 
design,  the  whole  of  dark  wood  inlaid  minutely  with  metal  and  fitted  with  meul  mountings 
of  probably  gilt  bronze.  The  piece  is  of  that  transition  neriod  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Style  Louis  Seize,  when  the  artists  were  still  a  little  afraid  of  the  severe  straight  lines 
which  later  were  altogether  approved  and  uniformly  adopted.  Here  are  the  table  legs  of 
double  curvature  characteristic  of  the  Sty/e  Louis  i^uirme,  but  the  delicacy  of  the  parts  is 
of  the  new  reign,  and  the  frank  adoption  of  the  surface  adornment  in  delicate  spots  of 
metal  on  the  dark  ground  is  the  beginning  of  that  wonderful  system  of  marquetry  which 
was  to  make  the  last  work  of  the  old  dispensation  in  France  so  effective.      R.  Sturgis. 

Louis  XVI.  Writing-Desk  ....   577 

Writing-table  with  small  bookcase  above.  This  is  an  admirable  piece,  probably  of  French 
make,  gracefully  proportioned  and  beautifiilly  wrought,  and  adorned  in  a  limited  way  with 
lines  of  brass  inlaid  in  the  surface  of  the  wood.      R.  Sturgis. 

Carved  Oak  Chair     ......   579 

Armchair  with  heavily  carved  frame.  This  piece  is  notable  as  showing  in  a  very  unusual 
way  what  it  was  that  the  revivers  of  elaborately  carved  furniture,  in  the  years  1830-50 
were  trying  to  produce.  The  result  of  their  work  was  disastrous — the  most  complete  de- 
cadence possible  to  imagine;  and  this  influence  filled  the  houses  of  England  and  the  United 
States  with  an  ugly  lot  of  heavily  wrought  pieces  in  walnut  and  oak.  At  one  time  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  get  furniture  of  any  pretence  which  was  not  marred  by  this  exagger- 
ated style  of  decoration.  In  these  pieces,  however,  there  is  something  of  the  seventeenth 
century  vigour  retained  or  revived.  The  projecting  heads  forming  the  ends  of  the  arm?  are 
especially  noticeable.      R.  Sturgis. 

Upright  Piano     .......   583 

Upright  piano  of  the  type  established  in  the  early  days  of  that  instrument — the  second  or 
third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  design  of  such  a  piece  is,  of  course,  akin  to 
that  of  a  cabinet,  the  weakness  of  the  piano  design  being  in  this:  that  the  front  is  never 
to  open  and  yet  must  allow  sound  to  be  transmitted  freely.  From  these  conditions  arises 
the  filling  of  the  great  panel  with  silk  arranged  in  an  upholsterer's  fashion,  which  is  al- 
most hopeless  as  a  matter  of  effective  design.  The  piece  in  question  is  well  managed  as  re- 
gards its  woodwork,  in  the  awkward  Georgian  style,  but  still  made  decorative  with  some 
delicate  inlay  and  very  good  wrought  mouldings  surrounding  and  holding  each  panel.  R. 
Sturgis. 

Card  Tables    ......   facing  584 

Two  card  tables,  apparently  a  pair,  with  precisely  the  same  adornment  in  each.  One  is 
shown  open,  and  one  shut,  the  adornment  by  a  slight  inlay  in  light  material  on  the  dark 
ground  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  indicate  a  later  epoch  than  those  which  in  this  Part  have 
been  noted  as  having  a  decoration  by  means  of  inlay.  This  table  might  be  of  1830  rather 
than  of  an  earlier  epoch.      R.  Sturgis. 

Piano  .....  .  .  585 

Piano  of  a  very  early  type,  one  in  which  the  extremely  simple  form  common  to  the  spinet 
and  harpsichord,  and  which  have  been  commented  upon  in  notes  to  illustrations  in  Part  VII. , 
is  continued  in  the  newer  and  more  elaborate  instrument  of  music.  In  the  present  case 
there  is  a  delicate  ornamentation  of  straight  lines  of  inlay  on  the  legs  as  well  as  on  the 
body,  and  the  top  of  each  leg  is  marked  by  an  oval  plaquette.      R.  Sturgis. 

Carved  Chair  from   Bombay  and  Carved  Teak- 
Wood  Stand  .....   587 

The  carved  ch»ir  resting  upon  six  feet  has  a  circular  cane  seat  and  a  semi-circular  back  in 
which  are  three  paneb  pierced  and  carved  in  leaf  designs.     The  wood  is  rich  reddish  brown 


LIST  OK   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAOI 

in  hur.  The  canrrd  tnk-wood  Mand  accomiMnying  It  is  also  a  Ane  specimen.  The 
nufble  slab  forming  its  top  is  framed  by  a  border  inlaid  with  brass  Some  valuable  pieces 
of  porcelain  originally  owned  by  the  Emperor  of  China  stand  upon  it  ( see  text ) .      E.  S. 

Carved  Oak  Cabinet  .  .  .  facing   585 

Although  this  massive  and  valuable  specimen  is  nearly  four  square  and  exceedingly  heavy, 
the  eye  is  so  charmed  with  the  lightness  of  the  carving  and  the  arrangement  of  the  pan- 
els that  one  is  hardly  conscious  that  it  is  composed  entirely  of  straight  lines.  The  prickly 
leaf  is  tastefully  and  gracefiily  entwined,  and  there  is  something  about  the  treatment  that 
suggests  carving  in  stone.  This  piece  is  said  to  be  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  stands 
upon  the  old  ball  foot,  like  the  Dutch  kat  or  las  (see  pages  264-7).  It  may  be  compared 
with  the  specimen  facing  page  238.      E.  S. 

Old  Spanish   Cabinet  ,  .  .  .  -591 

V'argueno  j  Spanish  work  of  the  seventeenth  century — a  very  interesting  piece.  These 
cabinets  were  really  made  for  transportation  ;  compare  what  is  said  of  the  so-called  travel- 
ing che>t-of-drawers  in  former  parts  of  this  work.  The  vargueno  when  taken  apart  con- 
sisted of  a  completely  self-contained  square-cornered,  flat-sided  box  with  two  sufficient  handles 
and  of  a  wholly  separate  stand,  which  of  itself  could  on  occasion  be  separated  into  three 
puts  without  much  danger  of  marring  the  detaib  of  the  workmanship.  The  present  piece 
is  a  simple  specimen,  the  little  arcades  on  the  interior  being  partly  wrought  in  the  wood 
and  partly  of  turned  spindle-like  pieces  split  and  applied  flat  side  in  to  the  sur&ce.  There 
is  little  costly  decoration,  inlay,  carving  and  the  like,  but  the  piece  is  efiiecdve  in  the 
grandiose  Spanish  way.      R.  Sturgis. 

Table  of  Period  of  Louis  XIV.  .  facing   592 

Table  of  Boutle  work  and  with  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  best  period  of  that  work 
in  the  bter  years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.  No  piece  in  the  large  collection  which  we  have 
been  passing  in  review  is  more  strictly  a  collector's  piece — would  more  strongly  attract  a 
k>ver  of  magnificent  furniture — than  the  present  table.  I'nder  all  its  elaborate  and  even 
fantastical  decoration  there  is  a  certain  seventy  of  general  design  which  keep*  the  whole 
perfectly  together.      R.  Sturgis. 

Carved  Oak   Chest     ......   595 

Thb  specimen  was  imported  from  Spain.  Its  legs  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the 
chest  on  page  i6i ,  which  b  very  simple  and  plain.  Three  panels  in  the  front  are  also  to 
be  noticed  upon  the  latter  specimen,  upon  the  chest  facing  page  178,  and  in  that  upon 
page  131,  as  well  as  upon  the  chests-with-drawen  facing  pages  176,  214,  and  226. 
This  Spanish  chest  may  be  compared  with  the  one  facing  page  216,  which  is  of  the  same 
general  type  ;  but  the  present  example  is  carved  on  the  ends  and  further  enriched  by  mas- 
sive metal  hinges.  It  may  also  be  compared  with  the  chest  facing  page  24,  which  has 
four  panels.  The  encircled  rosette  appears  in  the  latter  example,  but  quite  differently 
treated.  Here  we  have  it  in  a  form  resembling  the  sunflower,  the  half  disc  appearing 
in  the  border  above  the  panels.      £.  S. 

Mahogany  Por te-Manteaux        ....    t;gg 

Hat  tree  of  the  same  style  of  bold  carving  which  is  noticed  m  connection  with  the  piano 
and  a  sofii  in  Part  VII.  and  with  several  four-post  bedsteads  in  other  parts  of  this  work. 
In  the  present  case  the  workman  had  a  good  oppottunity  to  display  his  skill  in  arranging  hk 
carving,  and  he  has  used  it  creditably  with  perhaps  a  somewhat  too  bold  handling,  the  re- 
sult of  which  has  been  that  his  outline  is  indeterminate — the  main  lines  being,  as  it  were, 
contradicted  by  the  extremely  deep  and  bold  Kulpture.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chest-upon-Chest    .....   facing  593 

TalB>oy  of  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  nnost  effective  ptece,  to  be  compared  favour- 
ably  with  some  which  are  described  in  earlier  parti  of  this  work.  Such  pieces,  getting  all 
their  applied  or  inessential  adornment  by  brass  handles  and  scutcheons  are  made  elfectivc  in 
the  perfect  adaptation  of  means  to  end  and  of  the  natural  growth  of  the  design  out  of  the 
icquirement  of  so  many  drawers,  so  large,  and  placed  in  such  and  such  a  way       R.  Sturgis. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Desk     .  .  .  .  .         .  .  .  .601 

Writing-table  with  desk  fittings,  pigeon  holes  and  drawers  above.  The  front  of  the  raised 
part  of  this  piece  is  closed  by  horizontal  rotating  shutters  exactly  like  those  shown  in  a 
sideboard  in  Part  VII.  This  is  a  graceful  piece  of  good  proportions,  but  of  severe  sim- 
plicity of  make.      R.  Sturgis. 

Sofa  in  the  Sheraton  Style         ....   602 

Bench  with  back  and  arms  of  the  kind  called  settee  or  more  commonly,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  its  seat  was  evidently  intended  for  upholstery,  a  "  sofa,"  but  of  a  special  type.  This 
is  an  admirable  piece  and  might  afford  a  valuable  suggestion  to  modern  designers.  What 
would  do  more  to  make  our  drawing-rooms  artistically  effective  than  to  resort  to  some  such 
simple  and  obvious  motive  of  design  as  that  which  is  the  characteristic  of  the  piece  before 
us  ?  The  free  use  of  little  columns  in  a  long-drawn  colonnade  varied  by  the  breaks  ii)  the 
top  rail  which  mark  the  principal  uprights  and  the  use  of  a  similar  design  for  the  four  front 
legs  of  the  piece — the  general  freedom  and  lightness  of  construction,  the  work  of  a  man 
who  had  not  feared  to  put  in  many  parts  in  order  that  he  may  get  those  parts  severally  very 
slender  and  delicate,  and  the  boldness  with  which  he  has  divided  the  lower  parts  into  three 
and  the  upper  part  into  four  main  divisions — all  of  this  goes  to  make  a  piece  of  furniture 
which  it  would  be  well  to  copy  with  such  modifications  as  the  new  conditions  may  de- 
mand. The  way  to  utilize  such  a  piece  is  to  set  up  cushions  against  the  back  which  may 
indeed  be  tied  in  place  with  ribbons.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  why  the  seat  should  be  un- 
usually or  disagreeably  high.  Such  a  piece  as  we  have  here  is  hardly  a  lounging  sofe,  but 
it  is  not  desirable  that  the  furniture  of  the  drawing-room,  of  the  dining-room  or  of  the 
modem  "hall"  should  have  the  effect  of  accommodation  for  loungers.  A  certain 
amount  of  straightness  and  of  orderliness  seems  desirable.     R.  Sturgis. 

China  Cabinet  and  Chairs  ....   607 

Cabinet  arranged  to  serve  as  a  sideboard  in  a  small  room  or  as  a  secondary  sideboard  where 
there  is  a  larger  one.  The  table  top  below  is  left  unobstructed  for  utilitarian  purposes,  and 
the  little  cupboard  above  with  two  shelves  and  glass  doors  with  prettily  arranged  sash  bars 
is  meant  evidently  for  the  keeping  of  a  very  choice  tea  set  indeed.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Sideboard  ......  608 

Sideboards  not  unlike  several  which  are  shown  in  Part  VII.  The  present  one  has  a  cer- 
tain architectural  dignity  given  it  by  the  columns  which  carry  as  if  an  entablature  the  whole 
S)r8tem  of  drawers  in  one  horizontal  row,  and  especially  that  part  of  it  which  projects  and 
carries  a  sort  of  atric  at  either  end.  The  result  is  that  a  stately  piece  is  produced  but  at 
the  expense  of  considerable  inconvenience  with  regard  to  the  opening  of  the  doors.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  metal  mounting  as  in  the  caps  and  bases  of  the  columns,  but  the  project- 
ing knobs  are  of  cut  glass.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany     Chest-of-Drawers     and     Dressing- 
Glass     ......   facing  608 

Bureau  with  dressing-glass.  In  this  piece  the  Empire  Style  seems  to  have  been  extended 
somewhat  beyond  its  bounding  epoch  1815;  for  the  piece  can  hardly  be  as  early  as  that. 
The  use  of  the  appliques  of  metal  is  the  chiefs  mark  of  the  style  names,  and  those  of  the 
colonnettes  are  characteristic  :  but  the  decoration  of  the  cushioned-shaped  drawer  front 
and  the  anthemions  set  horizontally  in  a  narrow  band  above  are  apparently  inlays.  The 
ornaments  of  the  mirror  frame  are  also,  as  it  seems,  flush  with  the  surftice.  If  this  is  so  the 
piece  is  somewhat  unusual — an  outlying  composition — a  piece  of  work  doubly  interesting 
because  difficult  to  classify.  As  a  dressing-bureau  the  piece  is  sensible  and  in  artistic  com- 
position it  is  certainly  good.      R.  Sturgis. 

Dressing-Glass     ......  6ii 

Toilet  glass  and  stand  with  drawers  for  toilet  articles.  These  pieces  were  essential  in  days 
when  large  mirrors  were  too  expensive  for  the  custom  of  mounting  them  upon  bureau  tops 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

to  have  become  general.  The  introduction  of  the  modem  dreating  bureau  has  done  away 
with  thcK  picturesque  little  articles  of  furniture,  and  that  is  a  pity.  Room  should  be  found 
for  them  and  a  use  for  them  provided  j  the  thing  is  too  pretty  to  be  abandoned  in  haste. 
R.  Stwrgis. 

Low  Case-of-Drawers  .  .  .  .  .615 

The  case  of  drawen  has  been  so  fully  described  in  Part  V  that  it  is  not  necesnry  to 
dwell  upon  thb  specimen  which  should  be  compared  with  those  on  pages  331,  339,  343 
tnd  facing  3x2  and  326.  It  resembles  the  one  facing  page  322  in  having  but  one  top 
drawer,  but  it  differs  from  all  these  examples  in  having  but  one  drawer  below  this.  The 
terms  "high  boy"  and  "low  boy"  commonly  used  and  without  authority  during  the 
past  few  years,  are  avoided  by  all  connoisseurs  in  furniture.  The  brass  ring  handles  on 
the  low  case  of  drawen  in  question  may  be  later  additions,  for  the  usual  handle  for  pieces 
of  this  period  is  the  fuchia,columbine,  bell-flower  or  pearl  drop  that  appears  on  the  frood*- 
piece  to  part  V.  and  on  pages  117,  218,  343  and  345.     £.  S. 

Two  Chests-of-Drawers  .  .  facing   609 

A  bureau  which  nuy  be  called  a  reHex  of  the  French  Empire  Style,  though  in  the  present 
case  the  cap*  and  bases  of  the  cotonncttes  are  not  repeated  and  the  piece  a  less  richly 
adorned. 

The  second  is  a  piece  of  the  tame  character,  and  this  seems  to  point  to  a  gradually  increas- 
ing tendency  in  America  during  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  build  chests-of- 
drawert  with  this  curiotis  architectural  firamework  of  colonnettes  and  horizontal  members 
above.  In  the  present  case  the  elaborately  carved  colonnettes  seem  a  reminiscence  of  the 
bedposts  of  the  great  four-posters  shown  in  previous  parts  of  this  work.      R.  Sturgis. 

Bookcase  and  Secretary      .  .  .  .  .617 

Chest  of  drawers  with  bookcase  above.  Pieces  of  this  character  are  shown  in  Parts  V. 
and  VI.,  and  the  reader  should  compare  these  examples  with  the  one  before  us.  This  one 
is  of  extreme  simplicity  except  for  the  inlaid  oval  in  front  of  the  writing-desk  lid,  and 
which  contains  an  eagle — all  in  different  coloured  woods.  Such  glazed  doors  as  these 
were  commonly  lined  with  thin  silk,  apparently  with  the  feeling  that  the  glass  must  be 
cut  and  the  sash  bars  arranged  in  decorative  pattern  and  that  as  a  result  the  books  would 
not  be  well  shown ;  but  the  convenience  of  seeing  the  books  clearly  »  not  to  be  gainsaid. 
R.  Sturgis. 

Chair  and  Two  Tables       .  .  .  facing  618 

Two  stands  with  tripod  feet  and  a  chair,  all  three  inlaid  with  delicate  ornamental  pat- 
terns and  bouquets  of  flowers,  the  material  of  the  inlay  stated  to  be  mother-of-pearl.  The 
pieces,  though  perhaps  Oriental  in  make,  are  altogether  Euopcan  in  design.  The  Dutch 
received  from  the  eastern  islands,  Portugal  from  Western  India,  the  Dutch  from  China 
and  Japan  many  pieces  which  in  this  way  were  made  by  a  people  unfamiliar  with  the  de- 
signs which  they  were  expected  to  execute.  The  result  was  always  seen  in  a  certain  clum- 
sincM  of  general  design.  This  was  thought  to  be  redeemed  by  an  extreme  richness  of 
adornment  which  in  Europe  would  have  been  difficult  to  procure,  and  almost  of  necessity 
limited  to  persons  of  the  highest  fortune.  Such  pieces  of  furniture  are  really  "  Musetmi 
pieces,"  and  are  chiefly  valuable  as  specimens  of  beautiful  furniture.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany   Chfst-of-Drawfrs     .  .  .  .621 

Chest -of-drawers  in  which  a  workman  of  about  1780  tried  to  recall  the  rounded  forms 
of  an  earlier  and  richer  style  than  his.  The  curves  are  not  well  drawn  nor  well  com" 
bined  ;  but  the  whole  piece  and  its  very  elaborate  base,  with  the  four  fert  and  unusually 
iarge  brass  handles  and  scutcheons  taken  into  account,  is  quaint  and  picturesque  beyond 
what  is  usual.       R.  Sturgis. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Carved  Mahogany  Chair  and  Cellaret  .  facing    619 

This  chair  is  probably  the  work  of  some  Charleston  cabinet-maker.  The  back  is  ahnost 
identical  with  those  chairs  on  pages  148  and  447,  which  are  also  Charleston  pieces  and 
very  probably  of  native  work.  The  back  is  delicately  carved  and  the  embowed  top  rail  is 
particularly  graceful.  The  cellaret  at  its  side  may  be  compared  with  the  one  facing  page 
1 16,  which  is  also  bound  with  brass.  The  cellaret  came  into  use  with  the  mahogany 
sideboard  about  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  and  belongs  to  the  Heppclwhite  school. 
This  specimen  is  richly  carved  and  stands  upon  six  feet  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the 
chair  b  the  same  illustration.      £.  S. 

Bookcase  and  Desk  ....   facing  624 

Writing-desk  with  bookcase.  A  very  beautiful  piece,  not  unlike  in  character  of  the  de- 
sign to  the  dressing  bureau  facing  page  608.  The  same  method  of  decoration  by  inlay, 
probably  metallic,  seems  to  have  been  used  on  the  horizontal  bands,  and  is  certainly  em- 
ployed for  the  narrow  lines  of  the  edges  here  and  there,  and  those  which  surround  and 
adorn  the  larger  flat  surfaces.  The  mouldings  of  the  panels,  as  of  the  two  drawers  be- 
neath the  writing  desk,  are  effective  pieces  of  the  familiar  ovolo  decoration,  and  those 
which  surround  the  glass  of  the  doors  above  are  still  more  spirited  and  effective  in  design. 
Larger  ornaments  of  metal  in  high  relief  are  used  upon  the  legs  below.  This  is  a  refined 
and  delicate  design,  having  a  peculiar  charm  of  form  and  aspect.      R.  Sturgis. 

Chairs  in  the  Sheraton  Style  .  .  .  625 

Chair  and  armchair  which  are  of  the  same  design  as  the  sofa  shown  on  page  602.  It  is 
noticeable  that  the  same  design  which  was  good  for  the  sofa  is  good  for  the  chairs  too ; 
though  it  is  in  the  sofa  that  it  shows  its  fiiU  decorative  effect.      R.  Sturgis. 

Queen  Anne   Chairs  ....  facing    625 

Two  unusually  handsome  chairs,  both  with  regard  to  their  form  and  luxurious  upholstering, 
date  respectively  from  1700  to  1710.  They  are,  therefore,  of  the  Queen  Anne  period 
and  their  natural  surroundings  would  be  a  room  carved  by  Grinling  Gibbons  or  decorated 
in  the  elegant  style  of  Marot.      Their  dignity  and  elegance  need  no  comment.      £.  S. 

Chinese  Table  with  Slate  Top  .  .  .   629 

Table  in  which  the  extreme  severity  of  the  piece  is  modified  by  the  moulded  surfaces  of 
the  legs  and  by  a  very  prettily  worked  moulding  at  the  bottom  of  the  side  rails.  The  le- 
gend on  the  metal  plate  inserted  on  the  rail  says  the  piece  was  brought  from  Europe  to  Sa- 
lem in  181Z,  but  the  design  suggests  no  European  school  of  that  time  or  of  the  previous 
quarter  century.  If  made  in  China,  as  asserted,  the  piece  must  have  been  copied  closely 
by  Chinese  workmen  from  a  design  furnished  by  the  European  who  ordered  it.  R.  Stur- 
gis. 

DiNlNG-RoOM  .....  FACING    632 

In  thb  interesting  room  the  wooden  mantelpiece  and  the  corner  cupboard  or  buffet  are  of 
the  same  style,  and  the.dado  dates  probably  from  the  same  epoch.  It  is  most  unfortunate  that 
the  precise  detaib  of  the  delicate  moulding  cannot  be  shown  to  the  reader  in  a  photograph  ; 
but  the  difficulties  accompnying  indoor  photography  are  well  known  and  are  scarcely  to  be 
overcome  by  ordinary  means.  The  cupboard  is  more  elaborate  than  any  of  the  three  shown 
separately  in  the  Plates  of  Part  V.  The  simpler  work  of  the  time  is  commonly  more 
tasteful  than  that  which  possesses  more  elaborate  details,  and  this  because  there  was  no  great 
school  of  architecture  giving  constant  examples  of  highly  decorated  buildings  from  which 
inspirarion  could  be  drawn  for  domesric  architecture.  The  transportation  of  the  Georgian 
style  from  England  to  America  was  naturally  more  successful  in  its  simpler  examples  than 
in  pieces  more  elaborately  worked  out.  It  is  only  in  the  details  of  delicate  plaster  work 
that  the  more  florid  European  designs  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  brought  successfully 


LIST  OF   ILIA\STRATIONS 

rARK 

to  Amcrka;  aiMl  thf  iwiyiWMion  <>t'  theie  i*  almutt  always  Frmch — nor  i*  it  quite  cinr  how 
thii  French  influcnct  cUM  Iil 

In  the  case  before  ui  the  lflMl(  of  the  front  of  the  buffet  with  glazed  tash,  of  which  the 
nth  ban  are  arran(e<]  in  an  infwikius  and  complicated  pattern,  i>  one  of  the  mo«t  notice- 
abk  details.  We  ihall  find  timUar  nah,  though  le*t  elaborate,  in  a  bookcase  in  the  present 
Part,  and  there  is  mention  in  note*  to  llhHtracions  in  Part  V.  of  the  pa«ible  repbcing  of 
such  sash  as  this  by  solid  panels.  It  was  luch  glazed  doors,  also,  of  which  there  was  men- 
tion as  having  been  very  comnxmly  lined  by  green  silk,  when  it  was  desired  to  ccmceal  the 
papers  or  unbound  books  within.  When  uwd,  as  in  the  present  case,  to  display  old  family 
chiru  or  silver,  no  such  concealment  was  desired.  The  sideboard  in  this  room  is  an  ad- 
mirable piece  of  design  and  of  practical  utility.  It  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  the  se- 
vrrity  introduced  from  France  towards  the  cloae  of  the  eighteenth  century — and  which 
belonp  to  what  we  call  the  Siy/e  Louit  Stive — a  severity  which  caused  to  be  superseded 
the  exaggerated  KroUs  of  1750  by  the  wisely  understood  modem  adaptation  of  classical 
feeling  characteristic  of  the  style  named       R.  Sturgb. 

Carved  Rosewood  Chair  .  .  .   facing    633 

In  the  course  of  this  work  we  have  noted  the  splendid  and  varied  carving  in  oak  and  ma- 
hogany, but  car\-ing  in  rosewood  has  not  been  dwelt  upon  at  lei^h.  Chippendale  made 
imjucut  use  of  this  wood,  but,  during  the  Louis  Seize  period  and  after,  rosewood  inlaid  with 
brass  was  considered  very  elegant.  This  chair  is  richly  carved,  the  top  rails  ending  in  a  spe- 
cies of  pine-cone.   The  back  and  seat  are  stuffed  and  covered  with  pale  yellow  brocade.   E.  S. 

China  Cupboard  and  Two  Sheraton  Chairs 

FACING    638 

Comer  cupboard  of  unusually  ebborate  desiiin,  very  fine  and  rich,  and  with  an  unusual  ef- 
rect  obtained  by  hanging  the  glazed  doors  outside  of  the  niche  in  which  the  shelves  are 
placed.  The  crowning  piece  with  the  double  fronton  and  vase  is  unusually  well  designed, 
and  is  iitring  and  reasonable  for  such  a  decorative  piece  of  furniture  as  this.        R.  Sturgis. 

Carved  Ebony  Sofa  ....   facing   639 

This  sofa  or  settee  is  one  of  two  belonging  to  the  splendid  set  of  Chinese  furniture  owned 
by  Mrs.  Caleb  T.  Smith,  Smithtown,  L.  I.,  described  in  the  first  note  to  illustrations  of 
Part  VI.  Examples  from  this  collection  appear  as  the  frontispiece  to  Part  VI.,  and  fac- 
ing 416,  424  and  487.  The  top  and  lower  raib  are  composed  of  delicate  Krolls  and 
leaves  ;  the  legs  are  cabriole  ;  and  the  back  and  seat  are  covered  with  crimson  satin.  The 
toft  cushion  is  black  with  Chinese  flowers  and  birds  embroidered  in  bright  coloura.   E.  S. 

"Fancy"   Settee  .  .  .  .  .         .641 

Settee  with  finely  made  rush  seat,  a  moM  interesting  piece  of  the  more  intelligent,  more 
sincere  and  reasoruble  designing  of  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Painting  has 
been  used  in  a  very  slight  and  ineffectual  way  for  the  adomment  of  the  back;  moreover, 
bnesof  darker  colour  have  been  drawn  upon  the  smaller  slats.  It  is  not  from  the  paint- 
ing that  the  piece  derives  its  unmistakeahle  charm,  but  from  the  simplicity  of  its  make  and 
the  logical  if  not  altogether  gracefiil  composition.      R.  Sturgis. 

Mahogany  Sofa   .......  643 

This  very  simple  sofa  is  of  the  Sheraton  school,  as  may  be  proved  by  comparing  it  with  the 
one  on  page  479.  The  piece  is  covered  with  dark  garnet  velvet.  Sheraton  would  ar- 
range four  hard  square  pillows  at  equal  distances  along  the  back.      E.  S. 

Mahogany  Sofa  ......  645 

The  sofa  with  mahogany  fhin>e  shown  In  thb  illustration  b  a  familiar  piece  of  fiimiture  in 
many  old  families.  It  may  be  compared  with  the  one  facing  471  and  f;io.  The  feet 
are  almost  identical  with  those  of  the  latter.  Of  course  the  sofa  should  be  fiimished  with 
around  sofa  cushion,  similar  to  the  one  on  page  651,  under  each  scroll.      E.  S. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Sofa 


FACING    648 


This  peculiar  and  somewhat  ungraceful  sha[>e  is  a  comparatively  late  composition.  It  is 
best  appreciated  when  one  lies  down  to  rest  in  it  with  a  book.  The  back  is  delightfully 
supported  and  when  the  feet  rest  upon  the  other  end,  the  ease  and  comfort  of  the  poeidon 
can  hardly  be  described.      £.  S. 


Sofa 


In  this  illustration  we  have  an  excellent  example  of  the  clumsy  and  ugly  furniture  that 
succeeded  the  Empire  style.  The  feet  are  particularly  unsightly.  The  only  attempt  at 
grace  is  the  swan  neck  which  forms  the  scroll  ends.      E,  S. 


Sofa 


649 


651 


We  may  confidently  date  this  sofa  about  1821,  for  we  find  simibr  models  in  the  London 
fashion  papers  of  that  year.  The  curled  up  end  is  somewhat  suggestive  of  a  toboggan  ;  the 
other  end  that  of  the  conventional  sofa  of  the  nineteenth  century,  as  we  may  see  by  re- 
ferring to  pages  573  and  64;,  and  those  facing  47Z  and  510.  It  is  also  interesting  to 
compare  it  with  another  Charleston  piece  on  page  493,  called  a  "  French  Sofii. "  For 
a  list  of  fashionable  sofas  see  pages  539-540.      £.  S. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Part  VI  n 


'\r 


.  't  .  ■ 


1?^ 


PORCELAIN  CABINET 

In  the  rooms  of  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and  Art  Society.  See  page  581. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF 
OUR  FOREFATHERS 

PART  VHlt 

Woods,  UpKolstery  and  Styles 

OF    THE    EARLY    NINETEENTH    CENTURY 

ITHERTO  little  has  been  said  of  the  nev' 
styles  that  ushered  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
A  little  space  may  therefore  be  spared  for 
examination  of  this  period. 

English  invention  seems  to  have  become 
exhausted  after  Sheraton's  death,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  a  little  Gothic,  the  native  work  found  its 
origin  in  France. 

The  French  Revolution,  in  forming  anew  the  social 
state  of  France,  brought  great  changes.  A  fanatical  ad- 
miration for  the  antique  became  more  conspicuous  day  by 
day  in  the  usages  of  life  and  in  all  the  details  of  costume. 

In  the  last  days  of  Louis  XVI.,  furniture  already 
showed  thinness  of  form  and  a  seeking  after  simplicity  that 
revealed  an  imitation  of  Roman  marbles.  The  arrival  of 
a  society  that  worshipped  the  memories  of  the  republics 

$71 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  Greece  and  Italy  served  to  hasten  the  movement. 
Furniture  became  Athenian,  and,  soon  after  the  expedition 
to  Egypt,  the  buildings  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  were 
copied.  Public  taste  proscribed  the  old  traditions  of  ele- 
gance of  the  last  two  reigns  and  adopted  exotic  costume 
and  furniture  of  a  theatrical  and  monotonous  character. 
The  painter,  Louis  David,  was  largely  responsible  then 
for  the  aesthetic  doctrines  which  condemned  as  bad  taste 
the  furniture  ornamented  with  mosaic  and  marquetry. 
French  workmen,  scattered  by  the  closing  of  the  ateliers, 
and  discouraged  by  this  transformation  of  styles,  lost  inter- 
est in  artistic  production,  which  consequently  disappeared 
amid  the  general  indifference.  This  date  saw  the  begin- 
ning of  the  separation  of  art  and  industry. 

Under  the  Empire,  the  architect  Percier  was  ordered 
to  refurnish  the  residences  which  had  been  stripped  by  the 
successive  sales  after  the  fall  of  the  monarchy.  His  nu- 
merous designs  denote  a  fertile  imagination,  but  he  had  to 
give  satisfaction  to  a  warrior,  a  son  of  the  Revolution,  who 
wanted  to  surround  himself  with  memories  of  the  military 
campaigns  in  Egypt  and  Italy.  Percier  set  himself  the 
task  of  multiplying  warlike  emblems  on  all  objects  of 
furniture ;  he  copied  the  military  tent  for  the  office,  as 
well  as  alcoves  in  the  bedrooms  that  recalled  the  altars  in 
the  museums  in  Rome,  or  the  Pompeian  triclinium. 

Jacob  Desmalter  was  the  most  authoritative  cabinet- 
maker during  the  First  Empire.  He  it  was  who  was 
charged  with  the  execution  of  the  large  mahogany  con- 
soles and  buffets  supported  by  sphynx  figures  in  bronze 
which  garnished  the  apartments  in  the  palace  of  the 
Tuileries  and  the  royal  chateaux.  These  orders  were 
executed  with  a  complete  ignorance  of  rules  of  art.     We 

572 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

do  not   know  which  to  deplore  the  most,  the  massive  and 
ungraceful  forms,  or  the  pretentiousness. 

The  above  is  the  explanation  given  by  M.  Victor 
Champier  of  the  origin  of  the  Empire  Style.  The 
course  of  this  style  may  be  traced  in  the  fashion  publica- 
tions of  the  day,  from  which  the  following  notes  have 
been  extracted. 


EMPIRE    SOFA 
Owned  b>  Mrs.  Willum  Voung,  Baltimore,  Md.      Sec  page  645. 

"  Since  last  season  considerable  alterations  and  im- 
provements have  been  made  in  furniture  and  in  ornamental 
decorations  in  the  interior  of  tasteful  houses.  The  Egyp- 
tian costume^  at  best  but  indifferently  understood,  is  totally 
laid  aside,  and  a  style  of  furniture  drawn  from  the  florid 
Ionic  is  substituted.  We  shall  now  be  no  longer  disgusted 
with  the  horrid  imitations  from  what  is  called  the  antique^ 
and  shall  rejoice  to  see  that  species  of  barbarism  completely 
exploded,  and  the  mansions  of  the  great  again  become  the 
seat  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences,  by  being  stored  with  mov- 
ables of  domestic  use,  designed  after  the  purest  Grecian 
models.     A  more  grand  and  beautiful  outline  is  adopted  in 

573 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

the  shape  of  each  piece  of  furniture.  The  whole  are  aho- 
gether  divested  of  superfluous  arabesque  ornaments,  which, 
in  general,  have  been  placed  without  taste  or  discrimina- 
tion. Among  the  alterations  in  the  wall-decorations,  of 
state  apartments,  the  introduction  oi  fiock^  covering  the 
apartments  in  one  uniform  colour,  has  been  attempted  with 
but  indifferent  success;  though  the  efl^ect  is  rich,  if  man- 
aged well,  and  is  certainly  next  to  hangings  of  silk.  All 
mahogany  furniture  is  now  divested  of  inlaid  ornaments. 
Chairs,  tables,  sofas,  etc.,  used  in  drawing-rooms,  are  all 
covered  with  gold,  or  a  mixture  of  bronze  and  gold.  The 
japan  is  now  entirely  confined  to  the  third  class  of  gentry '' 
(1806.) 

"  Rooms  in  pearl  colour,  shaded  with  dark  and  light 
lines,  relieved  with  styles  of  a  darker  hue  and  gilt 
mouldings ;  pilasters  painted  in  bronze,  on  a  gold  ground, 
are  also  introduced.  Architraves  and  mouldings  may  be 
gilt,  or  in  bronze  and  light  satin-wood.  Doors,  dove  satin, 
satin-wood  with  black  mouldings,  or  light  satin-wood, 
with  black  mouldings.  Paper  to  imitate  cloth  is  also  very 
fashionable,  with  gilt  mouldings  and  palmites.  Pilasters, 
painted  bronze  on  a  light  ground,  or  arabesque  devices  in 
gold,  on  a  light  ground,  are  over  doors,  and  glasses  to  suit. 

"  Antique  candelabras,  rosewood  and  gold  pier-tables, 
and  the  chimney-pieces,  are  most  adapted  to  receive  lights 
on  which  are  introduced  bronze  and  ormolu  figures,  etc., 
with  branches  to  receive  wax  candles.  The  antique  and 
Grecian  lamps  in  bronze  and  ormolu  are  also  suspended 
in  the  centre  of  rooms  or  alcoves.  Window  curtains  of 
chintz  with  Roman  and  antique  draperies  and  silk  fringes, 
etc.,  to  correspond,  are  truly  elegant.  Chairs  and  sofas 
still  continue  from  drawings  after  the  antique,  in  rosewood 

574 


l.oriS  \\  1.   \  1  I  RlNt 
Used  OS  a  bookcase.  Owned  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick^  Boston^  Mass.  See  page  58 1 . 


LADY'S  ESCRITOIRE 

In  the  rooms  of  the  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and  Art  Society.     See  page  _$8l. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

and    gold,    mahogany    and    gold,    or    black    and    gold." 

(■807.) 

**The  Classical  ornaments  introduced  in  furniture  are 
now  more  closely  than  ever  confined  to  the  Grecian  and  the 
Etruscan  ;  the  Egyptian  having  been  so  badly  understood, 
it  has  fallen  into  disrepute,  although  possessing  many  beau- 
ties for  particular  apartments,  and  capable  of  producing 
the  most  grand  effect  for  candle-light  embellishment. 

"The  Gothic  style  being  so  well  adapted  to  country  man- 
sions, will  always  be  used  in  England.  Its  ornaments  and 
component  parts  are  in  themselves  extremely  elegant,  and 
capable  of  producing  great  effect :  they  require  taste  alone 
in  the  selection  to  produce  a  pleasing  composition.  Such 
decoration  should  be  wholly  confined  to  gold,  or  a  royal 
blue,  or  crimson  grounds,  or  on  oak,  or  scarlet  grounds,  in 
which  case  the  decoration  intended  for  the  walls  should 
follow  the  same  style.  Painted  glass  should  be  avoided  in 
colours  as  various  as  the  rainbow;  we  allude  to  the  gaudy 
manner  of  filling  up  Gothic  windows,  now  so  much  in 
request,  two  colours  at  most  being  necessary.  These  col- 
ours may  be  opposed,  so  as  to  form  shades  of  the  same  col- 
our, as  are  so  well  managed  in  the  Colleges  at  Oxford,  the 
effect  of  which  need  only  be  seen  to  produce  its  adoption. 
We  hope  to  see  the  taste  of  this  country  carried  to  a  greater 
pitch  of  excellence  than  that  which  now  exists  in  France. 
England  may  now  boast  of  its  mechanics ;  at  no  period 
did  there  exist  so  great  a  portion  of  talent  in  this  country ; 
we  mean  among  the  natives,  and  not  foreigners."     (1808.) 

"  Of  architectural  ornament,  the  most  brilliant  speci- 
men is  a  boudoir  in  the  Grecian  style ;  this  apartment  is 
octangular,  four  of  the  panels  are  of  mirror,  the  others 
ornamented  with  pilasters  embossed  richly,  and  relieved  by 

575 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

gilding.  Those  parts  of  the  walls  not  ornamented  are 
covered  with  a  rich  mazarine  hlue  velvet ;  the  ceiling  is 
covered  in  eight  compartments  corresponding  with  the 
sides,  and  decorated  with  antique  paintings  copied  from 
the  finest  specimens  of  Herculaneum,  and  the  centre 
forms  a  dome  from  which  the  apartment  is  lighted. 
Ottomans  are  placed  in  the  recesses,  and  the  chairs  are 
Grecian  with  stuffed  backs  and  seats  of  velvet ;  the  whole 
forming  a  blaze  of  splendour  as  elegant  as  unique.  The 
Gothic,  though  exploded  from  our  buildings,  is,  however, 
still  preserved  in  our  furniture;  we  have  heard  of  a 
*  Gothic  state  bed  for  an  infant '  who  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months  must  have  Gothic  bats  and  balls  or  a  Gothic 
babyhouse  ! '* 

"  We  observe  with  pleasure  a  more  tasteful  arrange- 
ment daily  taking  place  ;  the  gaudy  colours  of  the  chintz 
and  calico  furniture  have  given  place  to  a  more  chaste 
style,  in  which  two  colours  only  are  employed  to  produce 
the  appearance  of  damask.  The  same  style  is  adopting  in 
carpets,  giving  apartments  a  uniform  and  pleasing  appear- 
ance. Bronze  still  prevails  as  a  ground-work  for  chairs, 
sofas,  cabinets,  etc.,  and  will  always  be  classic  when  deli- 
cately and  sparingly  assisted  with  gold  ornaments.  A 
great  deal  of  black  has  been  used  in  chairs,  etc.,  but  the 
appearance  is  harsh,  and  the  contrast  too  violent  to  be  ap- 
proved by  genuine  and  correct  taste ;  its  cheapness  can 
alone  make  its  use  tolerable.  Manchester  coloured  vel- 
vets, used  for  furniture  and  curtains,  produce  a  rich  effect. 
Poles  richly  decorated  form  the  best  and  most  fashionable 
supporters  for  draperies,  and  in  all  probability  will  con- 
tinue throughout  the  present  year." 

"  A  considerable  alteration  has  taken  place  in  the  style 

576 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


LOUIS    XVI.    WRITING-DESK 
Owned  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick,  Boston,  Mass.      See  page  58 1. 

of  fitting  up  iipartinciits  within  these  few  months.  Instead 
of  a  gaudy  display  in  colouring,  a  more  pleasing  and 
chaste  effect  is  produced  in  the  union  of  two  tints.  This 
has  been  happily  managed  in  calicoes,  producing  an  ap- 
pearance equal  to  silk,  particularly  in  the  richer  and  more 
brilliant  colours.  We  have  witnessed  this  effect  in  a  full 
crimson  damask  pattern,  lined  with  blue  embossed  calico; — 
the  manufacture  of  Messrs.  Dudding  6c  Nelson.     A  sim- 

577 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ilar  taste  has  been  followed  with  some  success  in  paper- 
hanging,  exhibiting  a  rich  appearance  when  finished  with 
gold,  or  black  and  gold  mouldings.  Carpets,  especially 
for  principal  apartments,  have  partially  fallen  into  the  same 
good  taste.  This  mode  of  furnishing,  producing  in  the 
predominant  features  a  composed  and  uniform  effect,  aids 
greatly  the  meubles  of  a  grand  room,  especially  where  gild- 
ing is  introduced.  Should  silk  become  objectionable  from 
its  expense,  we  strongly  recommend  the  use  of  these  new 
patterns.  They  are  particularly  calculated  for  candle- 
light effects.  Dining  Parlour. — The  coverings  of  floors 
are  in  crimson  drugget,  milled  to  a  proper  substance,  and 
panelled  with  a  border  of  black  furniture  cloth,  producing 
a  warm  and  rich  appearance.  .  .  .  Chandeliers  of 
cut  glass  on  a  metal  framework,  with  ornaments  of  or  moulu 
and  bronze,  are  generally  used  for  illuminating  rooms,  af- 
fording a  brilliant  and  diffused  light  from  the  centre  of 
the  ceiling." 

"  Heavy  and  cumbrous  objects  are  giving  place  to  airy 
and  light  designs.  The  large  cornice,  the  ponderous  man- 
tel-piece, and  massy  chairs  yield  the  palm  to  modern  inven- 
tions founded  on  the  firm  basis  of  observation  of  nature." 

"  It  cannot  but  be  highly  gratifying  to  every  person  of 
genuine  taste  to  observe  the  revolution  which  has,  within 
thevse  few  years,  taken  place  in  the  furniture  and  decora- 
tions of  the  apartments  of  people  of  fashion.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  revolution,  effected  principally  by  the  study 
of  the  antique  and  the  refined  notions  of  beauty  derived 
from  that  source,  the  barbarous  Egyptian  style,  which  a 
few  years  since  prevailed,  is  succeeded  by  the  classic  ele- 
gance which  characterized  the  most  polished  ages  of  Greece 
and  Rome."      ( i  809.) 

578 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

The  fashion-plates  of  the  day  contain  many  examples 
of  Gothic  designs  in  oak  and  mahogany.  In  May,  1810, 
one  paper  gives  a  design  of  a  Gothic  sofa  upholstered  with 


CARVED    OAK    CHAIR 
Owned  by   Robert  Colby,  E»q.,  New  York.      Sec  page  581. 

"  French  stuffing  and  morocco  purple  leather  in  mahogany, 
satin-wood  or  wainscot  for  library." 

Sideboards  were  also  being  carved  in  oak,  and  to  this 
period  may  belong  the  sideboard  appearing  as  the  frontis- 
piece to  Part  VII.  One  design  of  this  date  is  thus  rec- 
ommended :  "  The  sideboard  should  be  made  entirely  of 
mahogany,  or  of  fine  oak,  which  has  been  so  generally 
adopted  of  late  in  mansions  furnished  in  the  ancient  style. 
This,   in   fact,  is    the   more  consistent,  and   therefore  the 

579 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

more  tasteful,  mode  of  decoration.  Mahogany,  however, 
may  be  used  with  great  propriety,  and  perhaps  the  effect 
of  that  wood,  on  the  whole,  is  richer  than  that  produced 
by  oak." 

**  In  France  it  is  now  considered  essential  that  the 
architect  should  design  the  furniture  as  well  as  the  build- 
ing, as  unity  of  character  is  highly  valued,  which  cannot 
be  obtained  unless  the  whole  is  guided  by  the  same  mind. 
To  a  very  different  practice  this  country  is  indebted  for 
the  ill  effects  of  our  buildings,  furnished  as  they  are  under 
as  many  feelings  of  taste  as  there  may  be  articles  of  furni- 
ture. .  .  .  The  manufacture  of  oak  into  furniture 
and  other  articles  has  undergone  an  extraordinary  improve- 
ment in  point  of  workmanship,  and  it  is  now  wrought 
with  so  much  elegance  as  to  rival  the  more  .expensive 
woods  of  other  countries." 

"  In  our  own  time,  the  French  style  gave  way  to  the 
Roman  and  that  to  the  Greek;  and  as  if  the  early  ages 
must  of  necessity  afford  purer  sources  for  research,  the 
Persian  and  the  Egyptian  have  been  brought  forward  and 
have  failed  to  supersede  those  chaste  models  of  harmony 
and  truth." 

**  Gothic  has  fair  claim  to  be  considered  as  legitimate 
art,  although  so  long  rejected  as  an  adventitious  mixture  of 
beauty  and  deformity.  Probably  the  verv  term  by  which 
it  has  been  known  has  done  much  to  injure  its  reputation; 
as  we  may  have  associated  with  it  ideas  of  ignorance  and 
bart)arism.  It  is  now  almost  rescued  from  these  calum- 
nies by  the  means  that  have  been  afforded  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  its  beauties  in  the  vast  growth  of  foreign  inter- 
course, riches,  and  leisure,  which  are  the  ostensible  patrons 
of  genius  and  taste."  ( i  8 1  3.) 

580 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

A  carved  oak  chair  belonging  to  Robert  Colby,  Esq., 
appears  on  page  579.  The  stretchers,  legs,  and  supports 
to  the  arms  are  turned  spirals,  the  back  of  the  chair  is 
elaborately  carved.  The  grotesque  heads  may  be  com- 
pared with  those  on  page  65,  and  facing  pages  424  and 
434.  The  chair  is  covered  with  dark-green  leather  fast- 
ened with  brass  nails. 

A  card  table  of  this  period,  with  painted  flowers,  in 
the  Valentine  Museum,  and  represented  on  page  505,  came 
from  the  family  of  Sir  Fulwar  Skipwith,  having  been 
purchased  from  the  old  family  residence,  Prestivould,  in 
Mecklenburg  County,  Va. 

A  lady's  escritoire^  of  the  Louis  XV.  period,  gilded,  in- 
laid with  mother-of-pearl,  and  decorated  with  handsome 
brasses,  faces  page  576. 

Facing  page  571  is  a  cabinet,  which,  like  the  above, 
belongs  to  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Mary  Parker  Corning.  The 
plaques  and  columns  are  of  Dresden  china  and  the  frame 
is  of  ebony  ornamented  with  gold.  Facing  6 1  8  are  a  table 
and  chair,  gilded,  lacquered  and  inlaid  with  mother-of- 
pearl.  These  belonged  also  to  the  Corning  family.  The 
small  table  is  owned  bv  Mr.  Tames  B.  Sanders  of  Albanv. 

A  desk  of  the  Louis  XVL  period,  imported  from 
France  by  Dr.  James  Read  Chadwick,  Boston,  Mass., 
is  on  page  577.  The  legs  are  reeded,  and  inlaid  with 
brass.  Brass  mouldings  outline  the  drawers  and  doors. 
This  is  of  the  same  date  as  the  vitrine  (glass  case)  facing 
page  574,  which  is  likewise  ornamented  with  brass  work. 

Two  handsome  card  tables,  facing  page  584,  are  rose- 
wood inlaid  with  brass.  They  now  belong  to  Robert  A. 
Boit,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  were  purchased  in  London 
by  his  grandfather,  John  Hubbard,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  at  the 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

sale  of  the  Russian  Ambassador's  furniture.  These  pieces 
were  brought  to  this  country  between  1815  and  1825. 

The  handsome  bookcase  and  desk  belonging  also  to 
Robert  A,  Boit,  Esq.,  Boston,  Mass.,  and  facing  page  624, 
is  said  to  be  by  Riesener. 

We  have  already  spoken  on  pages  424—428  of  the 
pianos  that  were  imported  and  made  in  this  country.  One 
by  Georgius  Astor  appears  on  page  585,  and  another,  said  to 
have  been  the  first  upright  piano  made  in  America,  is  seen 
on  page  583.  This  was  made  by  the  Loud  Brothers,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  was  presented  to  Memorial  Hall,  Phila- 
delphia, by  Mr.  Isaac  A.  Schwarz.  Thomas  Loud,  of 
London,  was  one  of  the  first  to  make  uprights. 

In  1825,  T.  Loud,  a  pianoforte  maker  from  London, 
settles  in  Canal  Street,  and  has  a  "  Philadelphia-made 
pianoforte  "  for  sale  in  the  same  year.  Space  forbids  any 
account  of  the  evolution  of  the  piano,  but  since  we  have 
seen  that  the  virginal,  spinet  and  harpsichord  were  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  in  the  inventories,  we  may  briefly  define 
the  difl^erent  instruments.  The  virginal  was  the  English 
name  of  the  spinet,  and,  according  to  Scaliger  (born  in 
1484),  the  name  came  from  the  introduction  of  little 
pointed  quills  or  plectra,  and  as  the  crow-quill  plectrum 
somewhat  resembled  a  thorn  {spina) ^  he  derives  from  it  the 
name  of  the  instrument.  The  French  called  it  espinette 
[epinette)  from  espine  or  epiney  thorn.  The  name  virginals 
was  employed  because  maids  and  virgins  played  on  them. 
This  name  passed  out  of  use  during  the  Restoration  in  Eng- 
land, and  the  word  spinet  (or  spinnet)  was  adopted,  as  well 
as  the  new  wing  form. 

The  harpsichord  is,  however,  quite  a  different  instru- 
ment, and  regarding  this  we  may  quote  A.  J.  Hipkins,  the 

582 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


UPRIGHT    PIANO 
Made  by  Loud  and  Brochcn,  Philadelphia  ;  now  in  Memorial  Hall,  Philadelphia.     See  page  581. 

recognized  authority  on  the  old   keyhoard  stringed  instru- 
ments.     He  says : 

**  The  harpsichord  is  a  double,  triple,  and  in  some 
instances,  quadruple,  spinet,  the  sounds  being  excited  by  a 
jack  or  quill  plectrum,  the  same  as  in  the  spinet  or  virgi- 

583 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

nal.  In  other  words,  instead  of  one  string  to  a  note,  as 
in  the  spinet  or  virginal,  the  harpsichord  has  two,  three, 
and  sometimes,  although  rarely,  four.  .  .  .  The  im- 
portance of  the  harpsichord  during  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries  was  very  great.  Where  the  grand  piano 
would  now  go,  the  harpsichord  went.  .  .  .  The 
complex  nature  of  the  harpsichord  required  a  larger  and  a 
differently  shaped  case  to  that  of  the  spinet,  the  grand 
piano  being  prefigured  by  it.  From  this  peculiarity  of 
form  the  Germans  called  it  Fliigel  or  wing,  also  Kieljiiigel 
from  the  plectrum  [kiely  quill)  causing  the  sound  produc- 
tion. The  Dutch,  Flemish,  and  French  named  it  from 
the  tail  or  long  continuation  Staartstuk,  Clavecin  a  queue.'' 

"  We  find  in  the  name  a  recognition  of  the  harp 
shape,  the  lower  bass  strings .  requiring  the  harp  disposi- 
tion rather  than  the  trapeze  one  of  the  spinet.  Galilei 
says  the  harpsichord  was  so  named  because  it  represented 
an  Arpa  Giacente  or  couched  (lying  down)  harp.  The 
harpsichord  appears  nearly  as  early  as  the  spinet ;  in  order 
of  time  there  is  very  little  between  them."  Hence,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  harpsichord  and  spinet  are  two  distinct  in- 
struments and  must  never  be  confused. 

In  1792,  Dodds  &  Claus,  at  the  Musical  Instrument 
Manufactory,  66  Queen  Street,  New  York,  advertise  as 
follows :  **  The  Piano-Forte  is  become  so  exceedingly 
fashionable  in  Europe  that  few  polite  families  are  without 
it.  This  much-esteemed  instrument  forms  an  agreeable 
accompaniment  to  the  female  voice,  takes  up  but  little 
room,  may  be  moved  with  ease,  and  consequently  kept  in 
tune  with  but  little  attention,  so  that  it  is  on  that  account 
superior  to  the  harpsichord.  The  improvements  which 
Messrs.  Dodds  &  Claus  have  made  in  the  forte  piano  have 

584 


CARVED  OAK  CABINET 
Chined  by  Mr.  Henry  Fitz-Waters,  Salem,  Mass.     See  pages  586-7. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

rendered  it  much  more  acceptable  than  those  imported. 
The  introduction  of  their  newly-invented  hammers  and 
dampers  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  great  improvement,  as 
also  the  means  they  have  taken  to  prepare  their  wood  to 
stand  the  effect  of  our  climate,  which  imported  instru- 
ments never  do,  but  are  sure  to  suffer  not  only  from   the 


PIANO 
Made  by  Georgiui  Astor,  No.  26  Wyck  Street,  London,  now  in  the  Glen^Sandert  house,  Scotia,  N.  Y. 

See  page  581. 

agitation  of  the  vessel  but  the  saline  quality  of  the  seas. 
One  great  advantage  to  the  purchaser  is  that  Messrs. 
Dodds  &  Claus  make  it  an  invariable  rule  to  repair  any 
instrument  that  may  prove  defective  in  the  workmanship 
if  applied  to  icithin  two  years  after  delivery." 

Among  the  woods  used  during  the  last  half  of  the 
seventeenth  and  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were 
oak  for  wainscotting,  and  cedar  for  doors ;  but  the  doors 
about  this  time  were  also  made  of  mahogany.  Where 
the  woodwork  had  to  be  painted  or  gilt,  which  was  done 
extensively  about  this  time,  it  was  of  deal ;  even  the  carv- 
ings were  painted  or  gilt,  so  that  one  wood  was  as  good 

58s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

as  another  for  that  purpose,  but  deal  was  the  most  econo- 
mical. Pear,  cedar  and  lime  were  much  used  by  the 
carvers  of  this  period,  as  they  were  more  suitable  for  the 
tender  work  required  for  flowers,  etc.  Grinling  Gibbons 
used  chiefly  lime-tree ;  oak  for  church  panellings  and 
mouldings ;  and  sometimes  cedar  in  the  architraves  of 
large  mansions;  pear-wood  or  box-wood  for  medallion 
portraits.  Elm  was  sometimes  used  for  various  necessary 
articles  about  the  house,  such  as  dressers,  and  also  ash, 
beech,  birch,  and  poplar  of  the  three  varieties — white, 
black,  and  aspen — sycamore  was  much  used ;  in  fact,  in  some 
old  houses  in  England  the  floors  are  of  sycamore,  and 
the  wainscot  of  poplar.  Walnut  was  extensively  used — 
both  English  and  Italian — effect  being  gained  by  contrast- 
ing the  plain  wood  with  **  Burr  "  centres.  Amboyna  and 
rosewood  were  also  UvSed.  Chestnut  was,  at  an  earlier  date, 
used  in  the  substantial  parts  of  buildings,  and,  in  old 
houses,  is  often  mistaken  even  by  good  workmen  for  oak, 
which  it  so  greatly  resembles  in  colour  and  substance. 
Ebony  mouldings  were  used  by  the  Dutch  cabinet-makers. 
Maple,  yew,  and  cherry  were  also  in  use.  Pear-tree  was 
cut  into  boards,  and  occasionally  took  the  place  of  oak, 
while  veneers  of  pollard  oak  were  used  in  centres  of 
panels.  Among  the  woods  used  in  combination,  we  find 
one  cabinet  of  oak  and  cedar  inlaid  with  rosewood  :  this 
dates  about  1620.  Another,  about  1690,  is  an  example 
of  the  cabinet  that  UvSed  to  be  made  when  the  heir  came 
of  age,  on  which  occasion  every  kind  of  wood  that  grew 
on  the  estate  was  used  in  its  construction.  Therefore,  we 
have  pollard  oak,  thorn  acacia,  sycamore,  walnut,  rose- 
wood, burr  walnut  and  pear  wood. 

A  carved    oak    cabinet  of    the    fifteenth  century,  be- 

586 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


longing    to    Mr.    Henry    Fitz -Waters,  Salem,  Mass.,  faces 
page    588.      It    is    of  the   same   period   as   the    cupboard 


CARVED    CHAIR    FROM    BOMBAY    AND    CARVED    TEAK-WOOD    STAND 
Owned  by   Mn.   Thomas  Small,  Charleston,   S.C.      See  page  590. 

facing   page    238,  though   the    workmanship  is  somewhat 
more  elaborate. 

Before  the  tropical  forests  of  the  Old  and  the  New 
World  had  been  explored  for  the  woods  of  beautiful  grain 
and  colour  that  delighted  the  worker  in  marquetry,  the 
inlaying  and  veneering  were  principally  done  with  native 
woods.  Ebony,  of  course,  was  always  known  and  prized. 
Palissandre^  or  violet-wood,  from  Guiana,  was  also  used 
during  the  seventeenth  century ;  as  also  was  rosewood 
for  inlays.  None  of  the  European  woods  has  the  deep 
and  warm  tints  of  the  tropical  products,  but  their  mark- 
ings are  often  very  beautiful.     The  yew,  which,  with  its 

587 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

other  lines,  blends  a  slight  trace  of  pink  or  rose,  and  has 
a  very  rich  appearance,  was  the  wood  used  for  the  finest 
and  most  costly  works.  This  wood  was  among  the  fur- 
niture of  Louis  XIV.  The  common  veneering  timber 
was  walnut ;  but  as  this  has  few  of  those  variegations, 
technically  called  "  curls,"  the  works  ornamented  with  it 
were  somewhat  deficient  in  beauty.  The  knotty  parts  of 
pollard  oaks  and  pollard  elms  were  much  better  adapted 
for  the  purpose  of  ornament,  although  the  grain  of  both  is 
open  and  apt  to  rise ;  and  so  these  were  sometimes  turned 
to  account. 

The  exotic  woods  used  before  i  830  were  the  following  : 

Rosewood,  principally  from  Brazil,  in  logs  about  eigh- 
teen inches  wide.  The  more  distinct  the  darker  parts 
were  from  the  purple-red  ground,  the  more  the  wood  was 
esteemed.  The  veneers  of  rosewood  averaged  nine  to  the 
inch. 

Kingwood,  also  from  Brazil,  is  extremely  hard.  It 
shows  black  veins  on  a  chocolate  ground. 

Beef-wood,  from  New  Holland,  was  principally  used 
for  forming  borders  to  work  in  which  the  larger  woods 
were  employed.  In  colour  it  is  pale  red,  and  not  so 
clouded  as  mahogany. 

Tulip-wood  is  very  hard,  and  its  hue  is  of  a  clouded 
red  and  yellow.  It  was  principally  used  in  bordering, 
and  in  small  articles  such  as  tea-caddies  and  ladies'  work- 
tables. 

Zebra-wood,  brown  on  a  white  ground  clouded  with 
black,  was  cheap,  and  was  employed  in  larger  work  such 
as  tables. 

Satin-wood,  well  known  for  its  brilliant  yellow  colour 
with  delicate  glowing  shades,  was  in  high  favour  for  a  long 

583 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

time.  It  was  very  fashionable  in  England  during  the  last 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Cipriani  and  Angelica 
Kaufmann  both  painted  medallions,  cameo  ornaments  and 
borders  on  table  tops  and  fronts,  harpsichord  cases,  etc., 
made  of  satin-wood  or  coloured  in  the  manner  of  the 
J^eniis  Martin  work.  Satin-wood  was  very  extensively 
used  by  Heppelwhite  and  Sheraton.  At  the  end  of  our 
period,  however,  it  was  somewhat  neglected :  Amboyna- 
wood  of  various  shades  took  its  place  for  a  time. 

Snake-wood,  of  a  deep  red  colour  with  black  shades, 
was  principally  used  for  bordering  and  small  work. 

Hare-wood,  with  a  light-brown  ground  and  waves  re- 
sembling satin-wood  in  arrangement,  was  also  fashionable. 

Botany  Bay  oak,  Coromandel  wood,  acker-wood,  and 
Canary-wood  were  also  in  request.  Purple-wood  was  in- 
troduced after  1 800.  Rarer  cabinet  timbers  were  part- 
ridge, leopard  and  porcupine  woods. 

The  inventories  of  the  royal  furniture  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV\  mention  the  following  varieties  of  wood  : 
Grenoble  walnut,  Grenoble  root,  German  wood,  German 
root,  polished  walnut,  mastic,  English  yew  root,  ebony, 
Palissandre  (violet  ebony),  cedar,  oak,  fir,  beech,  blackened 
pear  and  olive.      Mahogany  is  noticeably  absent. 

Ebony,  a  heavy,  hard  wood,  deep  black  in  colour, 
grows  in  tropical  countries.  It  was  known  to  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  and  is  mentioned  by  Ezekiel  as  one  of  the 
Tyrian  exports.  It  was  used  in  Italy  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury for  costly  furniture  in  combination  with  ivory  incrus- 
tations. The  Dutch  merchants  sent  it  to  Holland  in  large 
quantities,  after  they  settled  in  Ceylon  (1630),  and  it  be- 
came very  popular  in  Europe  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
We  have  had  evidence  of  its  presence  in  the  Dutch  homes 

589 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  New  Amsterdam.  The  French  obtained  it  from  Mada- 
gascar, and  from  it  derived  the  name  ebenistes  that  they  gave 
to  their  tine  cabinet-makers.  In  addition  to  black,  the 
most  valuable  kind  of  ebony,  there  are  green  and  yellow 
varieties.  A  splendid  example  of  ebony  carving  is  the 
vsofa  facing  page  640,  belonging  to  Mrs.  Caleb  T.  Smith's 
collection  (see  page  416).  The  back  and  seat  are  covered 
with  crimson  satin. 

The  table  facing  page  592,  comes  from  New  Orleans. 
It  is  of  the  Louis  XIV.  period  and  is  composed  of  ebony, 
marquetry,  silver  and  bronze.  This  was  a  present  from 
Louis  Philippe  to  the  Marquis  de  Marigny,  a  resident  of 
New  Orleans  after  the  fall  of  Louis  XVI.  When  Louis 
Philippe,  in  exile,  was  in  New  Orleans,  he  was  the  guest 
of  de  Marigny,  and  in  after  years,  when  he  became  King 
of  France,  the  Marquis  de  Marigny  visited  him  and  re- 
ceived many  presents,  which  are  now  divided  among  his 
relatives. 

On  pages  603  and  625  are  represented  an  ebony  sofa 
and  chairs  that  formed  a  set  belonging  to  Stephen  Girard,  of 
Philadelphia.  These  are  in  the  Sheraton  style  and  belong 
to  the  early  period  of  the  nineteenth  century.  They  are 
now  preserved  in  Girard  College,  Philadelphia. 

The  handsome  carved  chair  on  page  587  came  from 
Bombay  and  is  a  fine  specimen  of  Indian  work  :  it  is  in- 
teresting to  compare  it  with  the  carved  teak-wood  stand  of 
Chinese  work  on  the  same  page.  The  latter  has  a  border 
of  the  fret-work  of  which  Chippendale  was  so  fond.  The 
border  of  the  marble  slab  is  richly  inlaid  with  brass.  Upon 
this  table  stand  a  few  pieces  of  the  famous  **  Peacock 
China  "  made  only  for  the  Emperor.  His  monogram  is 
upon  each  piece.     These   came  from  Pekin   when   it  was 

590 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 


OLD    SPANISH    CABINET 
Owned  by  James  Rusaell  Lowell,  and  now  by  the  Mines  BurneR,  Cambridge,  Mass.     Sec  page  591. 

sacked  in  i860.  These  valuable  articles  are  owned  by 
Mrs.  Thomas  Small,  Charleston,  S.  C. 

In  many  reference  books,  the  credit  of  introducing 
mahogany  into  cabinet-making  is  given  to  a  Dr.  Gibbons. 
The  circumstantial  story  is  as  follows : 

Some  planks  were  brought  to  Dr.  Gibbons,  of  London, 
by  his  brother,  a  West  Indian  sea-captain.  The  doctor 
had  more  mahogany  than  he  wanted  for  medicine,  and 
thought  he  would  have  some  of  the  wood  used  in  a  house 

59» 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

that  he  was  building  in  King  Street,  Covent  Garden.  The 
carpenters  laid  the  wood  aside  as  too  hard.  Mrs.  Gibbons 
wanted  a  candle-box,  and  Dr.  Gibbons  gave  the  mahogany 
planks  to  a  cabinet-maker  named  Wollaston  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  latter  also  complained  that  the  wood  was  too 
hard  for  his  tools  ;  but  Dr.  Gibbons  persisted,  and  the 
candle-box  was  soon  finished.  Dr.  Gibbons  was  so  pleased 
with  it  that  he  ordered  a  bureau  of  mahogany.  This  was 
such  a  triumph  that  many  connoisseurs  came  to  see  it,  and 
the  Duchess  of  Buckingham  asked  for  some  of  the  wood 
to  have  furniture  made. 

That  the  above  is  a  fable,  that  credulous  editors  have 
hitherto  unquestioningly  adopted  from  their  predecessors, 
is  evident  from  what  has  already  appeared  here  (see  pages 
103,  148,  173  and  257).  Furniture  made  of  mahogany 
existed  in  New  York  before  1700,  and  in  Philadelphia 
very  little  later.  In  London,  the  wood  was  certainly 
familiar  to  native  makers  long  before  that  date.  The  table 
in  the  House  of  Commons  when  Cromwell  turned  Parlia- 
ment out  is  said  to  have  been  of  mahogany. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Spaniards  were  the  first  to  use 
mahogany  for  furniture,  and  that  the  Dutch  and  English 
soon  followed  their  example.  The  Spanish  cabinet-mak- 
ers were  very  skilful,  and  their  wares  were  famous  through- 
out Europe  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
We  have  seen  how  popular  the  "Spanish  table"  was,  and 
we  have  also  had  instances  of  Spanish  chairs  and  stools  in 
the  New  York  inventories.  Spanish  leather  was  always 
very  highly  prized,  especially  that  of  Cordova, 

A  very  fine  example  of  early  Spanish  workmanship  is 
given  on  page  591.  It  is  a  cabinet  made  of  Spanish  chest- 
nut on  a  columned  frame.     It  was  imported  by  Mr.  James 

592 


> 

•—I 

X 


o 


°l 

OQ 
< 


CHEST-UPON-CHEST 

Originally  oivneJ  by  th:  Sparbauok  family  i  nonjo  by  the  Rev.  John  Sparhaivk  Jones,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

See  page  6o^. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

Russell  Lowell,  and  now  belongs  to  his  grand-daughters, 
the  Misses  Burnett,  at  Elmwoody  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Another  piece  of  Spanish  work  from  the  same  house, 
also  imported  by  Mr.  Lowell,  is  a  carved  oak  chest  standing 
on  legs  grooved  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  plainer 
chest  on  page  i6i,  which  also  has  three  panels.  The 
original  iron-work  adds  to  the  interest  of  the  present 
example  shown  on  page  595. 

Spanish  escritorios  of  ebony,  or  marquetry,  were  as  re- 
nowned in  the  sixteenth  century  as  the  "  German  cabinets." 
Those  of  Salamanca,  sometimes  ornamented  with  remark- 
able bronzes,  were  particularly  esteemed,  as  will  be  shown 
by  the  following  quotation  from  a  curious  little  Spanish 
book  published  toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century 
under  the  title  of  Didlogos  muy  apa-zibles  (Very  Pleasant 
Dialogues)  : 

"  How  much  did  you  pay  for  this  escritorio  ?  *' 

"  More  than  it  was  worth  :   forty  ducats.** 

"  Of  what  wood  is  it?" 

"  The  red  is  mahogany  (caoba)  from  Havana ;  this, 
which  is  black,  is  ebony,  and  the  white  is  ivory." 

"  It  is  certainly  very  curious,  and  the  marquetry  is 
beautifully  made." 

"  Here  is  a  buffet  [bufete]  of  a  better  workmanship." 

"  Where  was  that  made  ?  " 

"  The  buffet  and  the  chairs  came  from  Salamanca." 

Another  author  of  the  same  period  tells  us  that  they 
brought  to  Seville  from  the  Indies  much  ebony,  of  which 
they  made  escritorios  and  mesas  (tables)  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful workmanship. 

Thus  we  have  direct  evidence  that  mahogany  was  used 
by    Spanish    cabinet-makers    before     1600.      It    has   been 

59s 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

suggested  that,  in  consequence,  when  furniture  was  made 
of  mahogany,  during  the  next  century,  it  came  to  be 
called  by  the  name  of  those  who  first  used  that  wood,  and 
that  the  "  Spanish  "  table  was  merely  a  mahogany  table. 

Before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  great 
deal  of  the  new  Dutch  and  English  furniture  was  being 
made  of  this  wood.  About  1690  is  the  date  attributed  to 
many  specimens  in  the  museums  of  Great  Britain.  Among 
these,  we  find  a  cabinet  with  rounded  top  and  interior  nest 
of  drawers ;  and  a  table  with  raised  edge.  A  wing  chair 
with  mahogany  cabriole  back  and  front  legs,  dating  from 
about  1 700,  also  occurs.  Mahogany  chairs  of  the  Queen 
Anne  period  are  plentiful. 

The  French  cabinet-makers  adopted  mahogany  much 
later  than  those  of  England  and  Holland.  Havard's  Dic- 
tiomiaire  d' atfieublement  says  that  mahogany  was  not  fashion- 
able in  France  till  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.,  when  it  was 
adopted  from  the  English.  However,  we  know  that  the 
French  were  acquainted  with  this  wood  early  in  the  cen- 
tury. Chomel  (1732)  says  oi  acajou  y  "its  wood  is  strong, 
somewhat  light,  sometimes  white  and  sometimes  reddish, 
not  at  all  susceptible  to  worms,  and  in  great  demand  for 
making  furniture  and  building  ships." 

The  Dictionnaire  de  Trevoux  (1771)  says  that  this 
wood  is  easily  worked :  "  The  armoires  that  are  made  of 
it  give  a  good  odour  to  clothes  and  preserve  them  from 
ruin.  These  properties  have  caused  some  people  to  think 
that  this  tree  is  a  species  of  cedar." 

In  1 73 1,  Mark  Catesby  noted  regarding  mahogany  j 
"  The  excellency  of  this  wood  for  all  domestic  uses  is  nov^ 
sufficiently  known  in  England." 

He  also  says  of  Red  Bay:   "The  wood  is  fine-grained 

594 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

and  of  excellent  use  for  cabinets,  etc.      I    have  seen   some 
of  the   best   of   this    wood    selected    that    has    resembled 


CARVED    OAK    CHEST 

Originany  owned  by  Mr.  James  Rutaell  Lowell.     Set  page  593. 

water'd  sattin  ;  and  has  exceeded  in  beauty  any  other  kind 
of  wood  I  ever  saw." 

In  1 74 1,  E.  Chambers  describes  mahogany  as  follows: 
"  There  are  three  species.  The  first  is  commonly 
known  under  the  appellation  of  cedar^  in  the  British  islands 
of  America,  where  this  tree  grows  naturally,  and  is  one  of 
the  largest  trees  in  the  country.  .  .  .  The  second  sort 
is  the  mahogany,  the  wood  of  which  is  now  well  known 
in  England.  This  tree  is  a  native  of  the  warmest  parts 
of  America,  growing  plentifully  in  the  islands  of  Cuba, 
Jamaica,  and  Hispaniola :  there  are  also  many  of  them  on 
the  Bahama  Islands.  In  Cuba  and  Jamaica  there  are  trees 
of  a  very  large  size,  so  as  to  cut  into  planks  of  six  feet  in 

S9S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

breadth  ;  and  rise  to  a  great  height,  notwithstanding  they 
are  sometimes  found  growing  on  rocks,  where  there  is 
scarcely  any  earth  for  their  nourishment. 

"  The  excellence  of  this  wood  for  all  domestic  uses  is 
now  sufficiently  known  ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that 
the  tree  should  not  have  been  taken  notice  of  by  any 
historian  or  traveller,  to  this  time.  The  only  author  who 
has  mentioned  this  tree  is  Mr.  Catesby  .  .  .  although 
the  wood  has  for  many  years  beep  brought  to  England  in 
great  quantities." 

We  have  already  seen  that,  in  his  book,  Chippendale 
attached  little  importance  to  mahogany.  Like  the  French, 
he  preferred  furniture  that  was  carved,  gilded  and  painted 
to  that  which  depended  upon  the  rich  colours  of  its 
natural  grain  for  its  beauty.  The  Chippendale  carved 
chairs,  with  open  backs,  are  very  often  of  walnut. 

The  Adam  furniture  was  made  chiefly,  though  not 
exclusively,  of  mahogany.  The  turned  top-rails  of  the 
chairs  were  sometimes  enriched  with  ormoulu  decoration. 
Often,  however,  Adam  chairs  are  painted  and  gilt. 

Heppelwhite  uses  mahogany  freely,  but  not  exclusively. 

Sheraton  says  :  "The  kind  of  mahogany  employed  in 
chair-making  ought  to  be  Spanish  or  Cuba,  of  a  clean, 
straight  grain  ;  wood  of  this  quality  will  rub  bright,  and 
keep  cleaner  than  any  Honduras  wood.  ...  It  ap- 
pears from  some  of  the  later  specimens  of  French  chairs, 
some  of  which  we  have  been  favoured  with  a  view  of, 
that  they  follow  the  antique  taste,  and  introduce  into  their 
arms  and  legs  various  heads  of  animals;  and  that  mahogany 
is  the  chief  wood  used  in  their  best  chairs,  into  which 
they  bring  portions  of  ornamented  brass. 

"  Drawing-room  chairs  are  finished  in  white  and  gold, 

596 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

or  the  ornaments  may  be  japanned  ;  but  the  French  finish 
them  in  mahogany  with  gilt  mouldings." 

In  1816,  the  Regent's  cabinet-maker  gives  his  ideas  on 
the  appropriate  use  of  this  wood,  as  follows  :  "  Mahog- 
any, when  used  in  houses  of  consequence,  should  be  con- 
fined to  the  parlour  and  bed-chamber  floors  ;  in  furniture 
for  these  apartments,  the  less  inlay  of  other  woods  the 
more  chaste  will  be  the  style  of  work  :  if  the  wood  be  of 
a  fine,  compact,  and  bright  quality,  the  ornaments  may  be 
carved  clean  in  the  mahogany.  Where  it  may  be  requisite 
to  make  out  panelling  by  an  inlay  of  lines,  let  those  lines 
be  of  brass  or  ebony.  In  drawing-rooms,  boudoirs,  ante- 
rooms, or  other  apartments.  East  and  West  India  satin- 
woods,  rosewood,  tulip-wood,  and  the  other  varieties  of 
woods  brought  from  the  East,  may  be  used.  With  satin 
and  light-coloured  woods,  the  decorations  may  be  of  ebony 
or  rosewood.  With  rosewood,  let  the  decorations  be 
ormoulUy  and  the  inlay  of  brass.  Bronzed  metal,  though 
sometimes  used  with  satin-wood,  has  a  cold  and  poor  effect : 
it  suits  better  on  gilt  work,  and  will  answer  well  enough 
with  mahogany." 

Mahogany  was  imported  in  large  quantities  by  the 
American  dealers.  At  Belcher's  Wharf  (New  York,  1741) 
Nathaniel  Cunningham  was  selling  mahogany  planks.  In 
1751,  Robert  Stidman,  of  Boston,  owned  859  feet,  worth 
j^ 2 3 6-4-6.  John  Scott  advertises  in  the  Virginia  Gazette 
(October  8,  1767)  :  "  I  have  a  quantity  of  good  Jamaica 
mahogany,  fit  for  tables  and  desks,  which  has  been  by  me 
seven  years,  and  will  work  it  up  for  any  gentlemen  who 
please  to  employ  me,  for  ready  money,  much  cheaper  than 
any  other  person  will,  as  I  intend  to  leave  off  the  busi- 
ness." 

S97 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

We  also  learn  from  the  Maryland  Gazette  (1773): 
"  Gerard  Hopkins  hath  for  sale  in  Gay  Street,  Baltimore 
town,  mahogany  boards  and  planks,  sawed  to  suit  every 
branch  of  cabinet  and  chair  work,  as  also  mahogany  logs : 
he  still  continues  carrying  on  the  cabinet  business  in  its 
various  branches  as  usual." 

Stearns  and  Waldo  at  the  Brick  Store,  Washington 
Street,  Salem,  have  "  camwood,  logwood  and  redwood  by 
ton  or  hundred,"  in  1790. 

Elias  H.  Derby,  of  Salem,  advertises  for  sale  in  1792, 
"  about  4,000  feet  of  seasoned  mahogany  planks  and  boards 
of  a  superior  quality";  and,  in  the  same  year,  W.  P.  Bart- 
lett,  of  Salem,  "about  7,000  or  8,000  feet  (board  measure) 
of  very  excellent  mahogany  in  logs." 

New  York  alone  could  have  supplied  large  manufac- 
tories with  mahogany.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  some  of  the  announcements  in  the  papers 
include:  44  logs  of  mahogany,  1801;  35,000  feet;  30 
feet  Honduras  ;  80,000  feet  prime  mahogany  in  logs  and 
planks,  6  tons  real  Campeachy,  and  14  of  Nicaragua  wood, 
1802.  In  1804,  150  pieces  of  ebony  wood  came  in;  and, 
in  1806,  179  sticks  of  cabinet-wood  for  cabinet-makers. 

Instances  could  be  multiplied  ad  lib.  However,  suf- 
ficient evidence  of  the  plentifulness  of  mahogany  here  has 
been  already  supplied  by  the  stocks  of  native  cabinet- 
makers. It  would  seem  that  there  was  a  valid  objection 
to  mahogany  furniture  made  abroad.  In  1789,  Wanzey 
writes  : 

"  I  was  told  the  air  at  New  York  is  so  dry  as  to  crack 
mahogany  furniture  brought  from  England,  unless  the 
wood  was  seasoned  there  first." 

In    Alexander     Hamilton's     Report     on    Manufacturer 

598 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

(1791),  wc  read  :  "  Cabinet-wares  are  gen- 
erally made  little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  those 
of  Europe.  Their  extent  is  such  as  to  have 
admitted  of  considerable  exportation.  An 
exemption  from  duty  of  the  several  kinds 
of  wood  ordinarily  used  in  these  manufact- 
ures seems  to  be  all  that  is  requisite  by  way 
of  encouragement." 

The  native  woods  used  by  the  American 
cabinet-makers  have  been  fully  exemplified 
in  the  inventories  of  these  craftsmen.  The 
Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld-Liancourt  notes 

(1795-7): 

"  From  the  mill  I  crossed  the  river  and 

the  woods  to  dine  with    Dr.  Warton,  who 
resides  about  a  mile  from  Wilmington,  on 
the  road  to  Philadelphia.  The  most  com- 
mon trees  in  these  woods  are  the  oak,  the 
chestnut,  and  the  hickory.   Cedars,  known  ^^^^r^^^v 

'  '  '  MAHOGANY 

in  England  by  the  name  of  Virginian,  are  porte-manteaux 
likewise  found  in  abundance;  also  Scotch  From  New  orfeam. 
pine  trees.  Lord's  pines  and  firs.  The  ce- 
dar wood  is  commonly  used  for  supporters  to  the  rails  with 
which  the  fields  are  enclosed.  The  houses  are  also  covered 
with  planks  of  cedar.  .  .  .  There  were  eight  of  us  at 
dinner ;  everything  which  we  used  was  the  produce  of  his 
own  (Dr.  Warton's)  farm:  even  the  table  cloth,  which 
was  fabricated  of  the  flax  grown  on  his  own  grounds,  and 
ihe  table,  which  was  made  of  a  very  beautiful  wood, 
cut  on  his  own  estate,  as  smooth  and  finely  veined  as 
mahogany.  .  .  .  The  woods  in  the  States  of  Delaware 
and  Maryland  produce  no  other  trees  than   are  found   in 

S99L 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  Oaks  of  every  species  abound 
in  them,  many  of  which  are  large  and  compact  in  the 
grain.  They  are  used  in  carpenter's  work,  and  furnish  a 
great  article  of  exportation.  The  black  walnut  tree,  which 
also  abounds  in  these  woods,  is  much  used  by  cabinet- 
makers, and  makes  beautiful  furniture." 

Ira  Allen  in  his  History  of  Vermont  (1798)  mentions 
the  butternut  tree  as  being  used  for  wainscoting  and  says 
the  white,  the  black,  the  red  and  the  swamp  oak  are  "  all 
useful  in  civil  and  nautical  architecture." 

Timothy  D wight  ( 1 8 1  o— i  8 1 1 )  notes  that  in  New 
England  the  "  Black  Birch  is  used  for  furniture  of  various 
kinds,"  and  says,  "  the  wood  of  the  Butternut  is  very  hand- 
some in  furniture." 

The  mahogany  desk  after  the  Sheraton  style,  given  on 
page  601,  belonged  originally  to  Mrs.  Joshua  Grainger 
Wright,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  is  now  owned  by  her 
great-grandson,  S.  M.  Boatwright,  Esq.,  of  that  city.  The 
little  drawers  and  pigeon-holes  at  the  top  are  placed  behind 
a  tambour  shutter.  Another  instance  of  tambour  work  oc- 
curs in  a  sideboard  on  page  498.  It  may  be  interesting 
to  quote  here  Sheraton's  own  definition  : 

"  Tambour  tables,  among  cabinet-makers,  are  of  two 
sorts — one  for  a  lady  or  gentleman  to  write  at ;  and  an- 
other for  the  former  to  execute  needlework  by.  The 
Writing  Tambour  Tables  are  almost  out  of  use  at  present, 
being  both  insecure  and  liable  to  injury.  They  are  called 
Tambour  from  the  cylindrical  forms  of  their  tops,  which 
are  glued  up  in  narrow  strips  of  mahogany  and  laid  upon 
canvas,  which  binds  them  together,  and  suffers  them,  at  the 
same  time,  to  yield  to  the  motion  their  ends  make  in  the 
curved  groove  in  which   they  run,  so  that  the  top  may  be 

600 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


brought  round  to  the  front,  and  pushed  at  pleasure  to  the 
back  again,  when  it  is  required  to  be  open.  Tambour 
Tables  are  often  introduced  in  small  pieces  of  work  when 
no  great  strength  or  security  is  required." 

The  number  of  na- 
tive workmen  was  very 
considerable.  In  1789, 
the  Boston  Directory 
contains  the  following 
names  of  those  engaged 
in  various  branches  of 
furniture  manufacture: 

Jos.  Adams,  Geo 
Acres,Thomas  and  Rich. 
Bright,  Samuel  Blake, 
Moses  Bass,  Jno.  Bright, 
George  Bright,  Wm. 
Callender,  Thomas  Car- 
ter, John  Cogswell, 
Wm.  Dogget,  Wm. 
Doak,  Alex.  Edwards, 
Joseph    Francis,    Moses 

Grant,  Abm.  Hayward,  John  How,  Simon  Hall,  Jno.  Jar- 
ves,  Seth  Kingman,  John  Larkin,  Martin  T.  Minot,  Benj. 
Page,  Ebenezer  Ridgeway,  John  Simpkins,  Samuel  Staf- 
ford, Josiah  Simpson,  Thomas  Sherburne,  John  Skilling, 
Ziphion  Thayer,  Isaac  Vose,  Ebenezer  Waters. 

Seven  years  later,  we  find  the  following  additional 
names  : 

Samuel  Adams,  E.  Breed,  W.  Bright,  Thomas  Bright, 
Josiah  Burnstead,  James  Campbell,  Edw.  Cary,  Thomas 
Down.  Thomas  Foot,  John  Forrest,  Jesse  Foster,  Guild  & 

601 


DESIC 

Owned  by  Win.  Joshua  Grainger  Wright,  now  by  her 
great-grandsun,  S.  M.  Boatwright,  Esq.,  Wilmington, 
N.  C.     See  page  boo. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Adams,  Hall  &  Bisbe,  Edw.  Hall,  Sewel  Hall,  John  Hay- 
ward,  Edmond  Hay,  David  Hendrick,  John  Holland, 
Thomas  Howe,  Howe  &  Alexander,  James  Kelsa,  Eb. 
Knowlton,  Elisha  Leanard,  Thomas  Lilhi,  Thomas  Lucas, 
Wm.  M'Donald,  Thomas  Needham,  John  Orr,  Orr  & 
Sewall,   Edw.  Q^  Richards,  Wm.   Seaver,  John  Seymour, 


SOFA    IN    THE    SHERATON    STYLE 
Owned  by  Stephen  Girard  ;  now  in  Girard  College,  Philadelphia.      Sec  page  590. 

Simeon  Skilling,  Samuel  Skilling,  Ebed.  Sprague,  Samuel 
Stone,  Stone  &  Alexander,  Vose  &  Todd,  Moses  Ward, 
Nath.  Warner,  Edward  Waters,  Thomas  Wilkinson. 
In  1796,  the  Baltimore  cabinet-makers  were: 
William  Brown,  Alexander  Brown,  Walter  Crook, 
James  Davidson,  Henry  Davy,  William  Elvves,  Jean 
Gainnier,  William  Harris,  Hicks  &  Law,  Gerard  Hop- 
kins, William  Hornby,  Gualter  Hornby,  John  James, 
Samuel  James,  Isaac  Johns,  Samuel  Lee,  Charles  Linder- 
berger,  James  Martin,  Thomas  McCabe,  John  Moreton, 
William   Patteson,  Warwick   Price,  William  Sellers,  Sim- 

60Z 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

mund    &   Crook,  Thomas  Weatherstrand,  and   Wilkinson 
&  Smith. 

The  Windsor-chair  makers  were  John  Allvine,  Jacob 
Cole,  Caleb  Hannah,  Reuben  League,  John  Miller,  and 
John  Oldham  ;  Richard  Sweeny,  John  Earman,  and  Cole 
&  Brothers  were  chair-makers.  Barroux  &  Poirrier  were 
upholsterers ;  William  Karris,  looking-glass  carver  and 
gilder  ;  Hand  &  Barber,  portrait  painters,  gilders  and 
glaziers ;  and  James  Smith  &  Co.,  picture-frame  makers, 
gilders  and  carvers. 

In  1810,  the  cabinet-makers  were:  W.  Camp,  Walter 
Crook,  Henry  Davy,  Charles  Demange,  John  Denmead, 
Edward  Dorsey,  Aime  Dubois,  William  Freeman,  Francis 
Guignard,  Thomas  Hines,  Walter  Hornby,  Nathaniel 
Hynson,  Michael  Jenkins,  Anthony  Law,  Christian  Looky, 
James  Merriken,  Samuel  Minskey,  John  Morton,  John 
Parr,  Samuel  Passmore,  William  Patterson,  William  Phil- 
ips, Thomas  Poe,  W.  Price,  Edward  Priestley,  John  Reid, 
William  Seller,  Andrew  Simmons,  Mr.  Stevenson,  Peter 
Stitcher,  John  B.  Taylor,  Lambert  Thomas,  Samuel  West, 
Peter  L.  White,  Joseph  Wilson,  and  Charles  Yager.  The 
chair-makers  were:  George  Cole  (also  spinning-wheels), 
John  Coleman,  William  Cornthwait,  Thomas  Crow,  Jacob 
Dailey,  Robert  Davidson,  John  Ehrenman,  Robert  F'isher, 
Alexander  Ingram  (also  painter),  John  King,  John  Old- 
ham, Thomas  Oldham,  Jacob  Oldham  and  John  Simonson. 
Edward  Latham  and  Francis  Younker  were  fancy  chair- 
makers.  The  carvers  were :  John  Brown,  L.  Churchill, 
William  Garnous,  John  McCready,  John  McGoldrick, 
and  George  Smith  (also  a  gilder).  Ferrai  &  Dupin  had 
a  looking-glass  and  picture  store.  Mary  Hill  and  Eliza 
Willis  were  upholsterers,  both  on  Charles  Street. 

603 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

In  1803,  the  cabinet-makers  of  Charleston  were: 

John  Artman,  Patk.  Burk,  Jas.  Clark,  Charles  Desel, 
John  Douglas,  Jas.  Duddle,  Hance  Fairley,  Wm.  Gappin, 
Thos.    Hemmett,    Henry    Julian,    Geo.    Horlbeck,   John 

Hutchinson,  Jeremiah  Hutchinson,  Hutley  &  Wood, 

Lloyd,  Wm.  Martin,  John  Marshall,  Philip  More,  Michael 
Muckinfuss,  Joshua  Neville,  Ben.  R.  Porter,  Edw.  Postell, 
John  Prentice,  Lawrence  Quackinbush,  Wm.  Reside,  Wm. 
Roberts,  Jacob  Sass,  Jacob  Thorn,  Wm.  Thompson,  Wm. 
Walker,  Thomas  Wallace,  John  Watson,  Charles  Watts, 
John  Welsh,  John  Wilson,  and  John  A.  Woodhill. 

The  first  New  York  Directory  (1786)  contains  the  fol- 
lowing names: 

Thomas  Ash,  Windsor  chair-maker ;  B.  Barker,  watch 
and  clock-maker  ;  J.  Brower,  upholsterer;  Nicholas  Car- 
mer,  cabinet-maker ;  Daniel  Cautant,  Windsor-chair 
maker  ;  William  Ellison,  joiner  ;  Richard  Green,  painter, 
gilder,  glazier  and  colourman  ;  Peter  Garbrane,  turner  and 
umbrella-maker;  M.  A.  Gib,  painter  and  glazier  ;  R.  Kipp, 
upholsterer  ;  Lecock  and  Intle,  Windsor-chair  maker  ; 
William  Mooney,  upholsterer ;  Robert  Montgomery, 
watch  and  clock  maker  ;  William  Piatt,  paper-hanger  ; 
Pearsall  &  Embree,  watch  and  clock-makers ;  Henry 
Ricker,  cabinet-maker ;  Stephen  Sands,  clock  and  watch 
maker;  J.  Shelly,  chair-maker;  V.  Telyan,  chair-maker; 
and  Richard  Wenman,  upholsterer. 

In  1789,  the  cabinet-makers  were:  Alexander  Ander- 
son, Samuel  Bell,  Thomas  Burling,  Robert  Carter,  Robert 
Crookshank,  Walter  Degrew,  Alexander  Dunn,  Thomas 
Fanning,  James  Frame,  GifFord  &  Scotland,  William 
Kidson,  Isaac  Nichols,  Lewis  Nichols,  H.  Ricker,  James 
Ronalds,     Thomas    Timpson,     George    Titler,     Thomas 

604 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Wallis  and  Charles  Watts,  the  latter  also  musical  instru- 
ment maker.  There  were  nine  Windsor-chair  makers, 
and  ten  other  chair-makers. 

The  upholsterers  were :  Battow,  Brower,  John  Brown, 
John  Byles,  Richard  Kipp,  jr.,  Richard  Lloyd,  John  Post, 
John  Rickey,  John  Sanxay,  James  Van  Dyck,  and  Richard 
Wenman.  Isaac  Steymets  was  an  embroiderer  ;  and  Law- 
rence Lacey  was  a  "  mahogany  sawer." 

A  carved  mahogany  porte-manteaux^  or  clothes-rack, 
with  branches  ending  in  swans'  necks,  appears  on  page  599. 
It  is  probably  about  the  same  date  as  the  sofa  on  page  649. 
This  piece  comes  from  New  Orleans. 

The  mahogany  chest-upon-chest,  with  original  brass 
escutcheons  and  key-plates,  and  the  Heppelwhite  chair 
facing  page  600,  are  owned  by  the  Rev.  John  Sparhawk 
Jones,  Philadelphia.  The  first  is  a  piece  originally  owned 
by  the  Sparhawk  family  (see  page  334). 

A  china  cabinet,  which,  like  the  bookcase  on  page  617, 
contains  inlaid  medallions  of  the  eagle  and  stars,  which 
determine  its  period,  is  represented  on  page  607.  In 
this  example,  these  ovals  occur  above  the  legs.  The 
cabinet  for  china  is  a  part  of  this  piece  of  furniture  resting 
upon  the  back  of  the  table  and  steadied  by  two  tapering 
front  legs.  The  chair,  also  of  mahogany,  is  a  Chippendale 
pattern.  These  pieces  belong  to  William  B.  Willson,  Esq., 
Baltimore,  Md. 

The  table  represented  on  page  629  is  chiefly  interest- 
ing on  account  of  the  slab,  which  is  of  slate  surrounded 
with  an  inlaid  Chinese  design.  It  was  originally  a  writ- 
ing-table for  a  merchant  and  was  brought  into  this  country 
on  one  of  George  Crowninshield's  Salem  vessels  during 
the   war   of   1812,  when   privateering  was  not   considered 

605 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

illegal  in  this  country.  It  was  inherited  by  Mrs.  Edward 
C.  Pickering,  Observatory,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

In  1818,  Henry  B.  Fearon,  who  visited  America  to 
report  conditions  here  to  prospective  emigrants,  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  the  state  of  the  cabinet-makers' 
business  in  New  York: 

"  The  timber,  or  (as  the  term  is  here)  lumber  yards 
are   not  on   that  large  and  compact  scale  with  which,  in 

England,    our   friends   C and    M are   familiar. 

Mahogany  yards  are  generally  separate  concerns.  Oak 
boards  are  this  day  ^5-12.-6.  per  thousand  feet.  Shingles 
(an  article  used  instead  of  tiles  or  slates),  ^^1-2.-6.  per 
thousand  feet,  to  which  is  to  be  added  a  duty  of  fifteen 
per  cent.  Honduras  mahogany  is  five-pence  halfpenny  to 
seventeen  pence  farthing  the  superficial  foot ;  and  St. 
Domingo,  ninepence  three  farthings  to  seventeen  pence, 
halfpenny.  Mahogany  is  used  for  cupboards,  doors,  and 
banisters,  and  for  all  kinds  of  cabinet-work.  Curl  maple, 
a  native  and  most  beautiful  wood,  is  also  much  approved. 
Veneer  is  in  general  demand,  and  is  cut  by  machinery. 
Chests  of  drawers  are  chiefly  made  of  St.  Domingo  mahog- 
any, the  inside  being  faced  with  boxwood :  shaded  veneer 
and  curl  maple  are  also  used  for  this  purpose.  I  would 
remark,  that  the  cabinet-work  executed  in  this  city  is  light 
and  elegant — superior  indeed,  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  to 
English  workmanship.  I  have  seen  some  with  cut-glass 
instead  of  brass  ornaments,  which  had  a  beautiful  efl^ect." 
[It  is  interesting  to  find  contemporary  testimony  of  the  in- 
troduction of  glass  handles  on  furniture,  as  they  were  novel 
to  Mr.  Fearon,  and  he  evidently  was  not  ill-informed  on 
the  general  subject  of  cabinet-making.  This  notice  would 
seem  to  establish  the  fact  that  glass  handles  were  an  Ameri- 

606 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

can  innovation.  Examples  of  furniture  on  which  they 
occur  are  given  on. page  608,  and  facing  page  608.  The 
first  is  a  large  sideboard  of  dark  mahogany  belonging  to 
Mrs.  William  Young,  Baltimore,  Md.      The  capitals  and 


CHINA   CABINET    AND    CHAIR 
Owned  by  William  B.   Wilson,  Est].,  Baltimorr,  Md.      See  page  605. 

bases  of  the  columns  and  the  feet  are  enriched  with  brass. 
Upon  this  piece  of  furniture  stands  an  array  of  exceptional 
old  family  silver  that  belonged  to  the  Gilmors  of  Mary- 
land. The  other,  a  handsome  mahogany  chest  of  drawers 
and  dressing-table,  preserved  in  the  rooms  of  the  Albany 
Institute  and  Historical  and  Art  Society,  is  somewhat 
similar  in  design  to  the  one  facing  page  144.  This, 
however,  is  more  elaborate,  being  decorated  with  brass 
work  of  very  delicate  chiselling.     The  scroll  supports  of 

607 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


MAHOGANY    SIDEBOARD 
Owned  by  Mrs.  William  Young,  Baltimore,  Md.     See  page  607 

the  mirror  are  gilded,  but  chiselled  brass  appears  on  the 
bases  and  capitals  of  the  columns.  A  more  beautiful 
ormoulu  mount  decorates  the  long  round  drawer  above  the 
two  large  drawers,  and  a  finely  chiselled  brass  crescent  is 
placed  above  each  of  the  six  crystal  knobs.  The  latter 
were  probably  later  additions.] 

Mr.  Fearon  continues  :  "  The  retail  price  of  a  three 
feet  six-inch  chest  of  drawers,  well-finished  and  of  good 
quality,  is  3^^.  1 6s.  6d. ;  of  a  three  feet  ten,  with  brass  roll- 
ers, 5^.  8s.  A  table,  three  feet  long,  four  and  a  half  wide, 
3^.  7s.  6d. ;  ditto  with  turned  legs,  \£.  5s.  6d. ;  three  and 

608 


MAHOGANY   CHEST-OF-DRAWERS   AND    DRESSING-TABLE 

Owmtd  by  tbt  Albamj  InUitutt  and  Historical  and  Art  Socittj.      Set  pages  607S. 


'y^i0^0ifym^n-^jim}Fim''!(ri^ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

a  half  long,  five  and  a  half  wide  (plain),  3^^'.  12s.;  ditto, 
better  finished,  4^^'.  los.;  ladies'  work  tables  (very  plain) 
I  8s.  Cabinet-makers*  shops,  of  which  there  are  several  in 
Cireenwich-street,  contain  a  variety,  but  not  a  large  stock. 
They  are  generally  small  concerns,  apparently  owned  by 
journeymen,  commenced  on  their  own  account.  These 
shops  are  perfectly  open,  and  there  is  seldom  any  person  in 
attendance.  In  the  centre  a  board  is  suspended  with  the 
notice  *  Ring  the  bell.'  I  have  conversed  with  several 
proprietors  :  they  state  their  business  to  have  been  at  one 
time  good,  but  that  there  is  now  too  much  competition. 

"  Chair-making  here,  and  at  the  town  of  Newark,  ten 
miles  distant,  is  an  extensive  business.  The  retail  price  of 
wooden  chairs  is  from  4s.  6d.  to  9s.;  of  curl  maple  with 
rush  seat,  i  is.;  of  ditto  with  cane  seat,  13s.  6d.  to  i^\  2s. 
6d.;  of  ditto,  most  handsomely  finished,  i^^'.  9s.;  sofas,  of 
the  several  descriptions  enumerated  above,  are  the  price  of  six 
chairs.  I  have  seen  in  parlours  of  genteel  houses,  a  neat 
wooden  chair,  which  has  not  appeared  objectionable,  and 
of  which  the  price  could  not  have  exceeded  9s.  Cabinet- 
makers, timber-merchants,  and  builders  complain — they  all 
say  that  their  trades  have  been  good,  but  that  there  is  now 
a  great  increase  in  the  numbers  engaged,  and  that  the  times 
are  so  altered  with  the  merchants  that  all  classes  feel  the 
change  very  sensibly.  These  complaints  I  believe  to  be 
generally  well-founded;  but  I  do  not  conceive  the  de- 
pression to  be  equal  to  that  felt  in  England.  I  would  also 
make  some  deduction  from  their  supposed  amount  of  griev- 
ances. When  did  you  ever  know  a  body  of  men  admit,  or 
even  feel,  that  they  were  doing  as  much  trade,  as  in  their 
own  estimation  they  ought?  or  who  did  not  think  that 
there  were  too  many  in  their  particular  branches  ?     Every 

609 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

individual  desires  to  be  a  monopolist,  yet  no  wise  legislator 
would  ever  exclude  competition. 

**  A  good  cabinet-maker,  who  should  have  no  more  than 
an  hundred  pounds  after  paying  the  expenses  of  his  voyage, 
would  obtain  a  comfortable  livelihood  ;  as  would  also  an 
active  speculating  carpenter  or  mason,  under  the  same 
circumstances.  A  greater  amount  of  capital  would,  of 
course,  be  more  advantageous." 

Curl,  or  curled  maple,  of  which  Mr.  Fearon  speaks 
with  such  enthusiasm,  is  used  with  great  effect  as  pillars 
upon  a  chest-of-drawers  facing  page  6i6,  that  is  composed 
of  dark  mahogany.  The  capitals  of  the  pillars  are  deli- 
cately carved.  The  piece  belongs  to  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Fair- 
child  in  New  York.  On  the  same  plate  is  represented 
another  chest-of-drawers,  also  mahogany,  owned  by  Mrs. 
Henry  Wysham  Lanier.  This  is  handsomely  carved  with 
pineapples  and  leaves.  This  model  came  into  fashion  about 
1820.  The  front  of  the  top  drawer  frequently  let  down 
and  revealed  a  desk.  This  probably  was  the  way  in  which 
the  word  bureau  gradually  came  to  include  a  chest-of- 
drawers  even  when  it  contained  no  desk.  We  find  the 
following    advertisements    in   the  American  papers: 

"French  dressing  -  bureau  and  toilet -glass  (1823), 
French  dressing-bureaus,  ladies'  dressing-tables,  a  *  toilet 
bureau,'  1823;  French  pillar  and  column  bureaus  with 
toilets  complete,  1824  ;  ladies'  writing  secretaries  and  dress- 
ing-bureaus, dressing  toilets  with  glasses,  1824;  a  ward- 
robe with  centre  dressing-bureau,  toilets  with  hanging 
wardrobes,  1826;  ladies*  superb  dressing-bureaus  and  toilets 
with  glasses,  1826." 

The  mahogany  dressing-glass  on  page  611  belonged 
originally  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Van  Rensselaer,  and  is  dated 

610 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


on  the  back  1786.  The  handles  are  lion's  heads  and 
mouths  holding  a  ring,  and  are  probably  original.  This 
is  now  in  the  Glen-Sanders  house,  Scotia,  N.  Y. 

In  1820,  Dc  Witt  Clinton,  writing  from  Canandai- 
gua,  says :    "  All  wood  that  is  susceptible  of  a   tine  polish 

will  make  good  furniture, 
and  where  the  texture  is 
compact  and  the  grain  rine 
and  concentrated,  a  polish 
can  be  made,  an  almost 
invariable  accompaniment. 
I  have  been  not  a  little  sur- 
prised at  the  extravagance 
of  the  Americans  in  im- 
porting mahogany,  satin- 
wood,  etc.,  for  cabinet  work, 
when  they  have  as  good, 
if  not  better,  materials  at 
home.  I  lind  cabinet-makers 
in  full  employ  all  over  this 
country,  and  it  is  an  occu- 
pation which  deserves  en- 
couragement  It  adds  greatly  to  our  comfort  to  sit 

down  at  a  table  which  reflects  like  a  mirror — and  I 
always  judge  of  the  housewifery  of  the  lady  of  the  man- 
sion by  the  appearance  of  the  sideboard  and  tables.  But 
to  return  to  my  subject. 

"  I  went  yesterday  to  a  cabinet-maker's  shop,  and  I 
was  surprised  at  the  variety  and  elegance  of  the  furniture, 
chairs  and  sidfeboards,  tables,  book-cases  and  bureaus,  of 
walnut,  maple  and  wild  cherry,  which  would,  with  a  com- 
petent polish,  excel  the  furniture  made  of  imported  wood." 

611 


i^J^S 


DRESSING-GLASS 

Owned  origirMlly  by  Elizabeth  Van  Renstelaer  and 
dated  1786;  now  in  the  Glen-Sanden  House, 
Scotia,  N.  V.     Sec  above. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Philadelphia  was  at  least  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any 
other  American  town  in  the  manufacture  of  household 
goods.  Her  stoves  and  Windsor  chairs  were  especially  re- 
nowned. Even  in  Boston,  in  1787,  we  find  a  certain 
Ebenezer  Stone  advertising  :  "  Green  Windsor  chairs  of 
all  kinds  equal  to  any  imported  from  Philadelphia.  Chairs 
taken  in  and  painted.  N.  B.  English  and  West  India 
goods  taken  in  payment." 

In  1785,  the  cabinet-makers  of  Philadelphia  were  as 
follows  : 

Joseph  Allen,  William  Bromewell,  Thomas  Brown, 
Isaac  Barnet,  Thomas  Bowen,  Bartholomew  Baker,  Bryan 
and  Nicholson,  Samuel  Claphamson,  Adam  Cressmon,  John 
Douglass,  Kearns  Dowling,  Joseph  Dilvan,  David  Evans, 
Elfrith  and  Clarke,  Josiah  Elfrey,  John  Easther,  William 
Edward,  Alexander  Frazer,  Ford  and  Aitken,  Christian 
Fox,  Conrad  Feerman,  Jonathan  Gostellow,  Thomas 
George,  Daniel  Hayes,  Edward  Hargery,  Christian  Kearne, 
Leonard  Kislar.  John  Kreider,  Peter  Lesler,  Nicholas 
Lloyd,  Benjamin  Lyndall,  John  Meyers,  William  Moore, 
John  Miller,  Richard  Palmer,  William  Rigby,  George 
Shaw,  John  Savidge,  Samuel  Sime,  John  Townsend, 
Thomas  Tuft,  Daniel  Trotter,  Sr.  and  Jr.,  Francis  Triem- 
ble,  Andrew  Vowiller,  John  Webb,  Sr.  and  Jr.,  James 
Watkins,  Jacob  Wayne,  Sr.  and  Jr.,  William  Wayne,  Sa- 
rah Williams,  Jacob  Winnemore,  and  Samuel  Walton. 

The  Windsor-chair  makers  were :  William  Coxe, 
Ephraim  Evans,  Benjamin  Freeman,  John  Litchworth, 
Thomas  Miller,  Jacob  Martin,  John  Sprowsan,  Frances 
Trumble,  William  Weddifield,  Wear  and  Cubbin,  and 
John  Willis.  Chair-makers  were  George  Burford,  Rid- 
ding  Cobly,  Paul  Hover,  Robert   Jones,  Davenport  Mar- 

6ii 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

riot,  wheel  and  chair-maker ;  William  Savery,  and  Joseph 
Trotter.  John  Elliott  was  a  looking-glass  and  medicinal 
merchant,  and  James  Reynolds,  a  carver  and  gilder. 

At  this  date,  the  trade  was  so  important  that  a  publica- 
tion called  The  'Journeymen  s  Cabinet  an  /  Chair-makers' 
Philadelphia  Book  of  Prices  was  issued.  I'Vom  the  second 
edition  (1795),  it  we  extract  some  of  the  detailed  prices, 
we  can  form  a  very  clear  idea  of  the  work  that  local 
cabinet-makers  produced.  It  will  be  noticed  that,  al- 
though Heppelwhite's  book  had  been  out  only  six  years 
many  of  the  descriptions  apply  to  his  designs. 

EXTRA     PRICES    FOR    SATTIN    AND    OTHER    WOODS 

All  work    either    solid,   or    veneerd  with 
Sattin  or  Manilla-wood,  to  be  extra  in 
the  pound   from    Mahogany   calculated       £.  s.  d. 
with  all  the  work  on  it  except  bantry,   .       0-2-6 

Safico  or  Havannah,    "  "  "  .       0-3-0 

King,  tulip,  rose,  purple,  snake,  zebra, 
Alexandria,  panella,  yew,  maple,  etc., 
ditto,  etc.,  ditto,  ....       0-4-0 

The  joints  in  the  same  to  be  paid  the 
same  as  Mahogany,     .... 

All  Pine  work  deduct  in  the  pound y     .         .       0-2-6 

Cedar   Clothes  Shelves  or  drawers  to  be 

extra  from  poplar  or  gum,  each   .  .       0-0-6 

When  the  inside  of  furniture  of  Secretary 
drawers  is  made  of  Cedar,  to  be  extra 
in  the  Shilling,  ....       0-0-2 

A  cornice  frame   made  to  take  to  pieces 

for  packing  for  bookcases,  &c.,  extra,  .       0-2—6 

ditto  for  a  Library,  etc.,  .         .         .       0-5-0 

Common  or  Miter  Clamping  when  mor- 
ticed to  be  double,  the  price  of  clamping 
with  a  groove. 

61$ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


PRICE    OF    PUTTING    ON    BRASS    WOR 

Common  casters,  each 

Letting  in  the  plate  of  ditto,    . 

Socket,  castors  when  the  legs  are  tapered 

to  fit  in  per  set. 
Ditto  when  the  legs  are  shoulder'd 
Ditto  on  table  claws,  each  castor. 
Iron  or  brass  rollers  at  per  pair. 
Fitting  on  a  drawer  lock. 
Ditto  a  Box  lock,   .... 
Letting  in  the  plate  of  ditto,    . 
Common  handles,  each,  or  rings. 
Letting  in  the  nuts,  each 
Putting    on   a    patent    Lock,  extra    from 

Common  ditto. 
Lifting  handles,  each  pair. 
Socket  rings,  each. 
Pendant  rings,  each. 
Letting  in  Escutcheon,  each. 
Fixing  on  Center  quadrants,  each,    . 
Letting   in   plates  for  rods  in  the   top  o 

sideboards,  each  plate, 
A  triangle  on  a  pillar  and  claw  table,  or 

stand,  ..... 

Ditto  when  four  claws,    . 
Making  Holly  Escutcheons,  each    . 
Ditto  Ivory,  each    .... 


^  i:.s.d. 
0-0-2^ 
0-0- 1 

0-1-2 
0-1-5 
0-0-61^ 

o-o-8i^ 
0-0 -S}4 
0-1-5 

0-0-2 1^ 

0-0-2  }4 
o-o-iyi 

0--2-0 

0-1-4 

0-0-51^ 

0-0- 1 

0-0-2^ 

0-3-6 

0-0-8 

0-0-5 

0-0-6 

0-0-5 

o-o-io 


BEDSTEADS 

A  Cott  Bedstead, o-io-o 

A  low  popular  ditto  with  four  screws,        .  0-13-0 

If  with  eight  screws,  extra,       .          .          .  0-2-0 

If  Button -wood,  extra,     ....  0-1-6 
A    field     Bedstead    of    Poplar,    the    roof 

sloped  each   way,         ....  i-o-o 

If  Button-wood,  extra,     .         •         .         .  0-2-0 

614 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

£.  s.  d. 
Plinthing  each  post,         .         .         .         .       o-i-o 
Therming  each  post  out  of  the  solid,        .     o-i-io^ 
A  plain   high   post  poplar   bedstead,   the 

posts  turned  at  the  bottom  part,  .     o   1 8-6 

If  Button-wood,  extra,    ....       0-2-j 


•C^ 


LOW    CASE    OF     DRAWERS 

Owned  by  Miss  Susan  Pringle,  Charlnton,  S.  C.     See 
page  622. 


A  plain  Mahogany  high  post  bedstead     .        1-4—6 
A   Mahogany  field  bedstead,  sloped  roof,        1-7-0 
Plinthing  each  post,         .         .         .         .0-1-6 

Therming  each  post  out  of  the  solid,         .       0-2-3 
An   Ogee    roof  for  field  bed,  extra  from 

sloped,        ......       0-5-0 

A  circular    roof    from    ditto    extra    from 

sloped,         .         .         .  .         .       0-4-0 

Making  a  sloped  roof  separate  from  bed- 
stead,   0-6-0 

615 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

£.s.d. 
Each  pully  in  rails  of  high  post  bedstead,  0-0-3 
Each   Astragal    miter'd    round    the   posts 

above  the  framing,        .  .  .       o-i-o 

Cornices  to  be  paid  for  according  to  time. 
Each   inch  longer  than  6  feet   and  wider 

than  four  feet  between  the  joints,  .       0-0-2 

Reeding  a  pair  of  posts,  5  reeds,  each  post     o-i  i-o 
Ditto  with  7  reeds  in  Ditto,     .  .  .     0-14-0 

Ditto  with  nine  reeds,     ....     0-17-0 
Ditto  with  eleven  reeds,  .  .         .        i-o-o 

Ditto  with  13  reeds,        ....        1-2-0 
For  the  price  of  fluting  posts  (see  table  of 

Ditto). 
Colouring  and  polishing  a  high  post  bed- 
stead, ......       0-4-1 


CHAIRS 


A  plain  Bannister  chair  cover'd  over  the 
rail,  either  block'd  or  braced,  no  holes 
in  the  bannister,  straight  seat,  no  low 
rails,  ...... 


o-i 1-9 


EXTRAS 

Each  hole  in  the  bannister. 
Each  ditto  in  the  top  rail, 
Each  hole  in  upright  or  cross  splatts, 
Each  scroll  in  the  bannister,     . 
Each  scroll  in  upright  or  cross  splats, 
Each  scroll  in  top  rail  or  back  foot, 
Each  square  in  bannister  or  splatts. 
Each   ditto  in  the   top  rail   or  hollow,  to 

form  a  break,       ..... 
Each  nail'd   block  in  corner  of  chair  seats 

extra  from  common  blocks, 
A  serpentine  or  circular  front, 
Sweep  side-rails,      ..... 

616 


0-0-2^ 

0-0-4 

0-0-2^ 

0-0- 1 

o-o-i 

0-0-2^ 

o-o-i 

0-0-2 

0-0-2 
0-0-6 

O-I-O 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


BOt)KCASE     AND    SECRETARY 
Owned  by  R.  T.  H.  Halsey,  £«}.,  New  York.     See  page  6»3. 

£.  %.  d. 
A  loose  seat  straight,  ....  0-3-0 
Ditto  with  circular  front,  .         .         .       0-4-0 

Ditto  with  serpentine,      ....       0-5-0 
If  with  sweep  side  rails,  extra,  .         .       0-1-3 

«I7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


Low  rails  to  Ditto,  .  .  .  . 

If  no  back  rail  deduct,     .... 
Veneering  the  back  side  of  each  rail, 
Ditto  the  top  edges  of  each,    . 
Each  slip    between   the  back  feet  with    a 

bead  on  each  side,        .... 
Ditto  a  toad  back  moulding,    . 
Tonguing  each  stay  rail  together,  in  chairs. 
If  dovetailed,  ... 

For  tapering,  plinthing,  therming,  mould- 
ing, or  panneling  the  feet  (see  tables  of 

Ditto). 
Sawing  out  back  feet  of  i  )^  stuff,  each  cut 
Ditto  of  2  inches,  each  Ditto, 
Ditto  "25^  inches,  each  Ditto, 

"      "  3  inches,         "         " 

"      front  feet,  each  cut. 
Sawing  seat   serpentine  front,   rails,   each 

cut,    ...... 

Ditto  a  circular  front  or  sweep  side  rails 

each  cut,     ..... 
Ditto  a  circular  front  with  hollow  corners 
Mortising   the    back    feet    through,  each 

chair,  ..... 

A  splatt  back  chair  with  three  cross  splatts 

made  for  stuffing  over  the  rail. 
Straight  seat,  no  low  rails. 
Sawing  out  each  top  rail  or  splatt,    . 


£.  s.  d. 

0-3-9 
0-0-9 

0-0-3 

0-0-2}4 

0-0-2^ 

0-0-3^2 

0-0-4 

O-I-O 


0-0-2% 

0-0-3 

0-0-63^ 
0-0-4 

O-O-I 

0-0-3 


o-o-3}4 
0-0-6 

0-13-0 


A    SPLATT     BACK.    CHAIR 

Honeysuckle   pattern,   made  for  stuffing 

over  the  rail,  straight  seats,  no  low  rails,     0-14-6 

A  Heart  back  stay  rail   Chair,  with  a  ban- 
nister and   two  upright  splatts,  straight 
seat,  made  for  stuffing  over  the  rail,  no 
low  rails,     ......     0—15-8 

618 


CARVED    MAHOGANY   CHAIR   AND   CELLARET 

Owned  by  Mrs.  Andrenu  Simoads,  Charleston,  S.  C.      See  page  622. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


A    STAY     RAIL    CHAIR 

With  serpentine  top  rail  and  five  upright 
splatts,  straight  seat  made  for  stuffing 
over  the  rail,  no  low  rails,     . 

Rounding  the  back  side  of  each  splatt,     . 

With  three  upright  splatts,  straight  seat, 
made  for  stuffing  over  the  rails,  no  low 
rails,  ...... 


£.  s.  d. 
0-16-0 
0-0-2 


0-16-6 


A    VASE    BACK      STAY     RAIL    CHAIR 

With  serpentine  top  and  three  upright 
splatts,  or  bannister  in  Ditto,  straight 
seat    made   for  stuffing  over  the  rails,     0-15—6 

A    SQUARE     BACK    CHAIR 

With  a  hollow  cornered  top  rail  and 
straight  seat,  three  upright  splatts,  a 
bannister  in  ditto  made  for  stuffing  over 
the   rail, 0-15 -O 

A    SQUARE    BACK     CHAIR 

With  straight  top  and  stay  rail,  three  up- 
right splatts,  straight  seat,  made  for 
stuffing  over  the  rail,  .         .         .     0-14—0 

If  the   top  and  stay    rail  are  sweeped   in 

the  front,  extra,  ....       0-0-4 

If  the  above  is  made  with  a  long  vase 
splatt  in  the  middle,  and  an  arch  in  the 
top  rail  to  be  extended  between  two 
outside  splatts,  extra,  .  .  .        0-0-9 

Diminishing  each  back  foot  with  a  hollow 
front,  the  seat  rail  up  extra  from  plain 
taper,  ......       0-0-2 

ELBOWS    FOR     CHAIRS 

The  old  scrolled  elbow,  .         .         .     0-10-6 

Plain  twisted  ditto,  .  .         .  .0-11-6 

Plain  elbows,  .  .         .  .  ..      0-9—6 

Moulding  the  elbows,      ....       O-3-0 

619 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 


French   elbows  for  straight  side   rail,  the  £.  s.  d. 

elbows  mortised  on  stump  of  front  foot,  0—13-6 

If  to  sweep  side  rails  extra,       .         .         .  0-3-0 

A  close  stool  in  an  elbow  chair,  .  .  0-7—6 
For  extra  depth  of  framing  and  scrolling 

the  rails,      ......  0-3-0 

EASY  CHAIRS 

An  easy  chair  frame,    plain  feet,  no  low 

rails,             ......  1—5-0 

A  Commode  front,          ....  o-i-o 

A  Close  stool  in  ditto,     .         .         .         .  0-7-6 

A  fram'd  seat  extra,          ....  0-2-0 

Plowing  and  tonguing  ends  of  loose  seat,  0-0-9 

Square  clamping,  Ditto,             .          .          .  0—1—5 

Low  rails  to  ditto,            ....  0-4-0 

SOFAS    AND  EXTRAS 

A  plain  sofa  with  six  feet,  no  low  rails,  six 

feet  long,  with  fast  back,       .          .          .  1-8-0 

Each  inch  longer,             ....  o-o-iyi 

A  sweep  front  rail,            ....  0—2—0 

A  sweep  top  rail,    .....  0—0-9 

A    SQUARE     BACK    MAHOGANY    SOFA 

Five  feet  long,  with  six   feet  to  ditto,  no 

low  rails,  straight  seat,           .         .         .  i— 10— o 

A  sweep  front  rail  with  hollow  corners,     .  0-3-6 

If  with  a  hollow  corner'd  top  rail,     .          .  0-3-9 

An    arch   in   the   top    rail    to    answer  the 

arches  in  square  back  chairs,  extra  from 

straight,       ......  0-2-6 

Plain  mahogany  elbow  to  ditto,        .          .  o— 11— 6 

Each  inch  longer  than  five  feet,        .          .  0—0-2^ 

CABRIOLE     SOFA 

A  Cabriole   sofa   five  feet  long  with   plain 

feet,  no  low  rails,          ....  2—1-0 

620 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

£.  s.  d. 
Elach  inch  longer,  ....       0-0-4 

Tapering,  plinthing,  therming,  moulding, 

etc.,  see  plain  bannister  chair. 
Planting  mahogany  on  top  edge  of  back,       0-8-j 


MAHOOANV    CHEST    OF    DRAWERS 
In  the  house  of  Mr.  Chjrira  R.  Warm,  Salem.      See  page  613. 


Running  the  mouldings  on  ditto,     .  0-9-0 

A  crossband  and  astragal  round  front  and 

ends,  ......        0-9-3 

An  astragal  above  the  band  extra,  .       0-3—9 

Low  rails  to  ditto,  ....     o-i— 10 

Polishing  all  backs  of  chairs  with  wax  to 

be  paid  for  according  to  time. 

6x1 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  mahogany  chair  facing  this  page  has  a  back  of 
graceful  design  richly  carved,  and  belongs  to  the  early 
Chippendale  school  (see  pages  148  and  447),  but  the 
legs  and  feet  are  peculiar,  ending  in  the  dog's  claw,  above 
which  the  hair  is  indicated.  The  line  of  the  leg  is  quite 
different  to  the  cabriole  spring,  and  the  arms  are  also  less 
bowed  than  in  the  ordinary  Anglo-Dutch  model.  This 
criticism  also  applies  to  the  model  of  the  cellaret,  or  wine- 
cooler  at  its  side.  This  is  also  of  mahogany  bound  with 
three  heavy  brass  bands.  The  carving  of  the  legs  and  the 
base  as  well  as  the  large  daisy  on  the  top  of  the  cellaret  is 
carefully  executed.  These  pieces  belong  to  Mrs.  Andrew 
Symonds,  Charleston,  S.  C.  So  much  has  been  said  re- 
garding the  case  of  drawers  so  often  erroneously  called 
**  high-boy  "  and  "  low-boy  "  (see  page  342),  that  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  one  on  page  615  belonging  to  Miss  Susan  Prin- 
gle,  is  unnecessary.  We  may  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  this  has  but  two  drawers  and  simple  early  hoof  feet 
which  generally  characterize  these  specimens.  The  ring- 
handles  of  brass  belong  to  a  later  period. 

Bookcases  before  the  Revolution  were  generally  large. 
In  the  Charleston  Morning  Post^  July  27,  1786,  we  learn: 
"  To  be  sold  by  public  auction.  ...  A  very  complete 
bookcase,  8  feet  wide  and  9  feet  high  ;  the  upper  part  in 
three  pieces,  kept  together  by  a  beautiful  cornice.  Foi 
taste,  elegance  and  workmanship,  this  piece  is  not  ex 
ceeded  by  any  in  the  State." 

The  above  mentioned  bookcase  was  doubtless  simila: 
to  the  one  that  appears  on  page  150,  the  dimensions  of 
which  are  8  ft.,  4  in.  long;  i  i  ft.  high;  2  ft.,  4  in.  deep; 
and  the  upper  portion,  7  ft.  9  in.  high. 

Christian,  cabinet-maker,  35  Wall  Street,  has,  in  18 14, 

62Z 


THE   FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

"  a  superior  library  case,  8  feet  long,  by  9  feet,  6  inches 
high." 

A  bookcase — the  panes  of  which  are  in  the  style  of 
Chippendale  and  Heppelwhite — and  secretary  is  represented 
on  page  617.  This  belongs  to  R.  T.  H.  Halsey,  Esq., 
of  New  York.  It  is  of  mahogany  with  simple  brass 
handles.  The  chief  interest  of  this  piece  lies  in  the 
small  inlaid  oval  in  the  centre  of  the  flap,  representing  an 
eagle  surrounded  by  thirteen  stars,  which  alone  shows 
that  it  dates  after  the  Revolution  and  is  of  native  manu- 
facture. This  ornament  frequently  occurs  on  the  legs  of 
card-tables,  etc.,  made  after  the  Federal  Government  was 
established. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  change  of  style  from  the 
carved  oak  period  and  how  the  bombe  shapes  became  popu- 
lar (see  pages  195,  256,  and  405).  The  picture  on 
page  621  of  a  mahogany  chest-of-drawers  in  the  home  of 
Mr.  Charles  R.  Waters,  Salem,  Mass.,  gives  an  excellent 
idea  of  the  swelling  line  that  is  known  as  bombe  [bomber; 
to  bulge,  to  jut  out).  This  piece  is  decorated  with  hand- 
some brass  escutcheons  and  key-plates,  stands  on  short 
cabriole  legs,  with  the  eagle's  claw  holding  the  ball  and 
has  a  carved  shell  at  its  base. 

In  judging  old  furniture,  the  buyer  has  to  be  on  his 
guard  against  many  tricks  of  the  trade.  Most  of  these  are 
directed  towards  giving  an  appearance  of  antiquity  to  the 
pieces.  The  novice  should  be  particularly  suspicious  of 
carved  oak.  Walnut  juice  is  frequently  used  by  dealers  to 
stain  oak  a  deep  tone  ;  but  oak  of  moderate  age  is  brown 
and  not  black,  and  much  of  the  blackness,  which  is  only 
the  result  of  dirt  and  smoke,  can  be  washed  off.  New  oak 
can   also   be   darkened    by    a  solution  of  old  iron  in  hot 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

vinegar,  after  which  it  is  oiled  and  polished.  Worm  holes 
in  oak,  which  contribute  to  the  "antique"  appearance, 
are  also  "faked."  Nitric  acid  and  tiny  holes  bored  with 
an  auger  make  an  excellent  imitation  of  the  work  of  ants 
and  worms.  There  are  many  workmen  in  Europe  em- 
ployed solely  in  boring  such  holes  in  counterfeit  **  an- 
tiques," and  Parisian  dealers  have  also  been  accused  of 
riddling  the  wood  with  iine  bird-shot  and  of  utilizing 
worms  to  do  the  work.  It  is  also  said  that  furniture  which 
has  to  be  several  centuries  old  is  beaten  with  cudgels  and 
mallets.  Sometimes,  too,  carved  oak  is  roughly  coated 
with  white  paint,  which  is  dried  in  the  sun  and  washed 
with  potash,  which  removes  the  paint  in  patches,  reveal- 
ing tempting  glimpses  of  ornate  carving.  As  old  carved 
panels  were  frequently  painted  over  during  the  last  two 
centuries,  the  novice  is  ready  to  believe  the  dealer's  tale  of 
a  valuable  "  find."  The  plainer  an  oak  piece  is,  the  more 
likely  it  is  to  be  genuine,  for  comparatively  little  furni- 
ture of  two  hundred  years  ago  was  richly  decorated : 
sumptuous  articles  were  reserved  for  the  wealthy  class. 
Therefore,  the  amateur,  when  buying  carved  oak,  must 
examine  carefully  the  designs  and  beware  of  purchasing, 
for  example,  a  **  German  or  Flemish  piece  of  the  four- 
teenth century"  with  Renaissance  ornaments;  he  may 
well  be  suspicious  of  any  sixteenth  or  seventeenth  century 
carving  representing  Biblical  subjects  in  correct  Oriental 
costume  :  the  figures  would  appear  in  such  contemporary 
clothing  as  the  carver  was  familiar  with.  It  is  very  im- 
portant that  the  amateur  collector  should  study  the  forms 
and  devices  of  ornamentation  peculiar  to  different  periods 
and  to  individual  designers.  It  is  only  by  such  acquired 
knowledge  that  he  will  be  able  to  accord  a  proper  or  ap- 

624 


BOOKCASE  AND  DESK 

Owned  by  Mr.  Robert  A.  Boit^  Bestmt  Mass.      See  page  ^82. 


< 

X 

u 

^  . 

a. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

proximate  date  to  any  article,  while  his  common  sense  will 
afford  him  protection  against  unscrupulous  dealers'  legends. 
On  pages  18-20  a  general  description  of  the  ornaments 
and  construction  of  the  Elizabethan   and  Jacobean  furni- 


CHAIRS    IN    THE    SHERATON    STYLE 
Owned  by  Stephen  Girard  ;  now  in  Girard  College,  FhiUdelphia.     See  page   590. 


ture  has  been  given,  and  the  pictures  given  in  Parts  I. 
and  III.  of  carved  oak,  and  furniture  contemporary  with  it, 
will  enable  the  amateur  to  classify  any  similar  pieces  that 
he  may  discover.  He  will  also  be  able  to  ascertain  the 
proper  use  of  cane,  rush,  leather  and  damask  for  the  seats 
and  backs  of  chairs  of  this  period.  He  will  also  note  ex- 
amples of  transitional  styles  (see  chairs  on  pages  4,  65, 
69,    loi,    184,    186  and   240)   that    lead  to  the    Anglo- 

6xs 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Dutch  (see. chairs  on  page  277)  and  the  so-called  "  Chip- 
pendale "  furniture,  referred  to  on  pp.  68,  194,  256  and 
276-8,  and  be  enabled  to  follow  the  history  of  that  furni- 
ture in  which  the  curve  forms  the  outline  until  the 
straight  lines  dominate  under  Louis  XVI.  and  Sheraton. 
He  will  also  appreciate  that  the  abused  word  "  Co- 
lonial "  cannot  be  applied  to  any  furniture  dating  after 
1776  ;  and  that  no  Heppelwhite  and  Sheraton  models 
can  be  called  by  that  name. 

If  the  student  desires  to  attain  sufficient  knowledge  to 
distinguish  infallibly  the  work  of  the  various  great  makers, 
a  close  study  of  their  own  plates  is  necessary  first  of  all. 
Chairs  or  sofas  with  the  characteristic  backs  of  one  maker 
and  legs  of  another;  Chippendale  carving  with  Empire 
ornaments  ;  and  Louis  Quatorze  tables  in  mahogany  will 
soon  have  no  charms  for  him.  One  sometimes  sees  a 
somewhat  elaborately  carved  or  inlaid  mahogany  buffet  for 
sale  and  designated  a  "Chippendale"  sideboard!  Anyone 
acquainted  with  Chippendale's  book  knows  that  his  side- 
board is  merely  a  table.  The  intricacy  of  the  design,  and 
the  elaborate  carving,  inlaid  or  applied  work  is  often  a 
great  safeguard  against  counterfeiting.  The  skill  and  time 
required  to  reproduce  even  an  ornate  Chippendale  chair 
acts  as  a  deterrent.  The  copies  on  the  market  have  the 
most  meagre  amount  of  hand  carving  and  the  evidences  of 
machine  work  are  discernible.  The  dimensions  given  by 
the  original  designers  are  a  test  that  may  profitably  be  ap- 
plied. Some  of  these  are  given  on  pages  638,  639,  642, 
644  and  647. 

It  is  not  known  that  any  of  the  English  makers  signed 
the  work  produced  in  their  own  shops.  Many  of  the 
French  ebenistes  did  so:   on  different  pieces  in  South  Ken- 

626 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

sington  are  stamped  the  names  of  Riesener,  David,  Pafret, 
Carlin,  Gamier,  Oeben,  Pioniez,  Denizot,  Richter,  Joseph, 
DeloOvSe,  Jansen  and  Cosson.  Sometimes  the  prefix  M.  E. 
[meriuisier  eheniste)  occurs.  However,  even  if  a  piece  bore 
the  stamp  of  T.  Chippendale,  its  genuineness  would  not 
thereby  be  assured,  for  signatures  may  be  forged  as  carved 
dates  often  are  on  oak  chests. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Chippendale,  Adam,  Hep- 
pelwhite  and  Sheraton  are  almost  as  much  generic  terms 
as  Boulle.  Adam  never  made  any  furniture,  and  the  only 
authentic  pieces  of  "  Adam  "  are  those  specially  designed 
for  particular  rooms.  The  style,  however,  was  copied  by 
many  contemporaries,  and  it  is  their  productions  that  may 
be  procured  and  are  still  highly  prized.  The  characteris- 
tics of  Adam  furniture  and  ornaments  have  been  described 
on  pages  465—6.  Chippendale  has  been  fully  discussed  (see 
pages  441—450).  The  student  must  bear  in  mind  that  the 
books  of  designs  brought  out  by  Chippendale,  Heppelvvhite, 
Sheraton  and  others  were  avowedly  intended  for  the  use  of 
the  trade,  as  well  as  for  the  delectation  of  their  own  pa- 
trons. The  lists  of  subcribers  to  these  books  include  all 
the  principal  cabinet-makers  of  Great  Britain,  all  of  whom 
in  consequence  would  supply  their  customers  with  what- 
ever was  in  demand.  Thus  Chippendale  chairs  were  made 
by  the  thousand,  and  the  only  point  on  which  the  collec- 
tor can  hope  to  be  certain  is  whether  a  given  chair  is  of 
the  Chippendale  period.  The  same  applies  to  Heppel- 
white  and  Sheraton.  The  latter  made  scarcely  any  furni- 
ture after  the  publication  of  his  first  book  in  1793  (see 
page  477),  but  the  140  cabinet-makers  who  subscribed  to 
that  publication  undoubtedly  made  an  enormous  amount  in 
the  dozen  years  or  so  before  the  Empire  finally  supplanted 

617 


THE  FURNITURE   OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Sheraton.  Heppelwhite  is  usually  credited  with  the  heart- 
back  and  shield-back  chains,  but  care  must  be  taken  in  dis- 
tinguishing his  patterns  from  one  given  by  Sheraton.  The 
latter's  work  may  often  be  recognized  by  an  expert  in  car- 
pentry, for  he  generally  gives  most  minute  directions  for 
construction.     Typical  instances  are  as  follows  : 

"  As  high  as  the  stuffing  of  the  seat  a  rabbet  should  be 
left  on  the  stump  to  stuff  against ;  which  is  easily  done,  as 
the  stump  is  made  smaller  above  the  rail.  The  cushions 
on  the  arms  are  formed  by  cutting  a  rabbet  in  the  arm,  or 
leaving  the  wood  a  little  above  the  surface.  Some,  how- 
ever, bring  the  rabbet  square  down  at  each  end,  covering 
the  wood  entirely,  except  a  fillet,  which  is  left  at  the  bot- 
tom and  continues  round  the  cushion." 

"  Bed-pillars.  The  pateras  which  cover  the  screw 
heads  are  on  loose  panels  let  into  the  pillars,  and  which 
settle  down  into  a  groove  at  the  bottom,  by  which  means 
they  are  kept  in  their  place  and  easily  taken  out." 

Other  instances  of  his  detailed  instructions  occur  on 
pages  478-484  and  650-652. 

The  lists  of  materials  given  on  pages  631—637,  with 
the  dates  and  also  the  cabinet-makers'  own  instructions,  will 
be  of  use  to  the  amateur  in  covering  his  treasures  correctly. 
Many  of  the  chairs  represented  show  also  the  proper  dis- 
tribution of  brass  nails. 

We  can  hardly  understand  at  this  day  the  enormous 
importance  attached  to  draperies  and  the  graceful  festoon. 
Sheraton  introduces  it  everywhere,  especially  in  his  later 
years ;  and  the  Empire  furniture,  particularly  the  bed,  is 
dependent  upon  the  tent-like  folds  and  graceful  curtains  of 
contrasted  colours.  The  upholsterers  vied  with  each  other 
in  producing  effects,  as  the  plates  in  the  fashion  magazineg 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  the  day  plainly  show,  yet  we  rind  a  contemporary  critic 
uttering  the  following  complaint : 

"  In  no  part  of  his  profession  is  the  upholsterer  more  de- 
ficient than  in  the  arrangement   and   in   the   forms   of  his 


CHINESE  TABLE  WITH  SLATE  TOP 
Owned  by  Mr*.  Edward  C    Pickering,  Observatory,  Cambridge,  Ma».     See  page  605. 


draperies,  which  arises  from  the  want  of  an  attentive  ob- 
servation of  what  is  easy  and  elegant ;  from  this  deficiency 
of  knowledge  we  often  see  silk  and  calico  tortured  into 
every  other  form  than  agreeable  natural  drapery.  The 
mystery  and  difficulty  of  cutting-out  would  vanish  did  the 
artist  but  apply  his  mind  with  resolution  to  conquer  his 
established  prejudices :  to  the  workman  very  little  knowl- 
edge is  usually  required  beyond  cutting  out  what  is  usually 

629 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

called  a  festoon,  the  arrangement,  whether  for  continued 
drapery  or  for  a  single  window,  forming  the  principal  dif- 
ticulty  ;  one  festoon  well  and  properly  cut  out  will  answer 
for  the  whole  :  this  difficulty  once  overcome,  a  little  in- 
genuity will  readily  accomplish  whatever  else  may  be  re- 
quired. 

*'  I  must  here  observe  the  utter  impossibility  of  forming 
tasteful  and  well  flowing  draperies  of  the  stiffened  mate- 
rials at  present  in  general  use :  it  is  nearly  as  practicable 
to  throw  buckram  into  easy  and  graceful  drapery  as  the 
modern  high  glazed  stiffened  calicoes  ;  the  stiffening  must 
be  dispensed  with,  or  the  utmost  effort  of  the  artist  will 
be  in  vain.  The  pleasantest  materials  are  silk  and  tine 
cloth. 

**  For  eating-rooms  and  libraries,  a  material  of  more  sub- 
stance is  requisite  than  for  rooms  of  a  lighter  cast ;  and 
for  such  purposes,  superfine  cloth,  or  cassimere,  will  ever 
be  the  best ;  the  colours,  as  fancy  or  taste  may  direct ;  yet 
scarlet  and  crimson  will  ever  hold  the  preference." 

Another  writer  complains  in  i  8 1 6  as  follows  : 

**  Perhaps  no  furniture  is  more  decorative  and  graceful 
than  that  of  which  draperies  form  a  considerable  part ;  the 
easy  disposition  of  the  folds  of  curtains  and  other  hangings, 
the  sweep  of  the  lines  composing  their  forms,  and  the  harmo- 
nious combinations  of  their  colours,  produced  a  charm  that 
brought  them  into  high  repute,  but  eventually  occasioned 
their  use  in  so  liberal  a  degree  as  in  many  instances  to 
have  clothed  up  the  ornamented  walls,  and  in  others  they 
have  been  substituted  entirely  for  their  more  genuine  dec- 
orations, by  which  the  rooms  obtained  the  air  of  a  mer- 
cer's or  a  draper's  shop  in  full  display  of  its  merchandize, 
rather   than   the    well    imagined    and    correctly    designed 

630 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

apartment  of  a  British  edifice:  indeed,  to  so  great  an  ex- 
cess was  this  system  of  ornamental  finishing  by  draperies 
carried,  that  it  became  the  usual  observation  of  a  celebrated 
amateur  in  this  way,  that  he  would  be  quite  satisfied  if  a 
well  proportioned  barn  was  provided,  and  would  in  a  week 
convert  it,  by  such  means,  into  a  drawing-room  of  the 
first  style  and  fashion.  So  long  as  novelty  favoured  the  ap- 
plication, this  redundance  was  tolerated ;  but  time  has 
brought  the  uses  of  these  draperies  to  their  proper  office  of 
conforming  to  the  original  design,  consisting  of  those  ar- 
chitectural combinations  that  possess  a  far  greater  beauty, 
dignity  and  variety  than  draperies  are  capable  of  affording." 
The  materials  used  for  upholstering  in  the  seventeenth 
century  were  camak,  or  camoca,  darnix,  or  dornix,  or  dar- 
neck,  perpetuana,  kitterminster,  or  kidderminster,  serge, 
drugget,  dimity,  calico,  camlet,  calimanco  or  callimanco, 
plush,  mohair,  paduasoy,  horsehair,  chaney,  or  cheney,  or 
china,  Turkey-work,  green  cloth,  crimson,  worsted,  red 
cloth,  red  damask,  leather,  yellow  damask,  shalloon,  say, 
watchet,  serge,  linsey-woolsey,  searsucker,  blue  and  white 
cotton,  fustian,  silk  muslin,  chintz,  Indian  calico,  tabby, 
taffety,  sarcenet,  damask  and  rateen.  Camak  has  been 
defined  on  page  14,  and  darnix,  perpetuana,  kidderminster, 
serge,  drugget,  dimity  and  calico  on  page  17.  In  addi- 
tion to  calico,  there  was  painted  calico,  known  as  early  as 
1663,  for  Pepys  notes  in  his /)/>;; j  :  **  Bought  my  wife  a 
chint,  that  is  a  painted  Indian  calico,  for  to  line  her  new 
study."  It  is  strange  that  Chambers  does  not  mention 
calico  in  the  early  editions  of  his  encyclopaedia :  but  in  the 
supplement  to  that  of  1753  we  find  "  callicoes  are  of  divers 
kinds;  plain,  printed,  painted,  stain'd,  dyed,  chints,  muslins 
and  the  like." 

631 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Camblet  was  **  a  stuff  sometimes  of  wool,  sometimes  silk, 
and  sometimes  hair ;  waved  camblets  are  those  whereon 
waves  are  impressed  as  on  tabbies.  Tabby,  a  kind  of 
course  taffety  watered.  Taffety,  or  taffetas,  a  fine  smooth 
silken  stuff.  The  taffetas  Noirs  of  Lyons  are  Alamode  and 
Lutestring.  The  chief  consumption  of  Taffeties  is  in 
Summer-dresses  for  women,  in  linings,  scarfs,  coifs,  win- 
dow-curtains &c." 

Calimanco  was  a  glazed  linen  stuff;  plush,  a  coarse 
kind  of  silk  velvet  with  a  thick  nap  ;  mohair,  a  fabric  com- 
posed of  the  hair  of  the  Angora  goat,  mixed  with  silk  of 
cotton  warps ;  paduasoy,  a  smooth  strong  silk,  and  also 
a  kind  of  worsted  ;  hair-cloth,  the  same  as  horsehair ; 
chaney  or  cheney,  worsted,  woolen,  or  silk  stuff  from  China ; 
for  Turkey-work  see  facing  page  198  ;  shalloon,  a  woollen 
stuff  first  made  in  Chalons ;  say,  a  woollen  cloth  ;  linsey- 
woolsey,  a  coarse  woollen  stuff;  watchet,  pale  blue  ;  sear- 
sucker,  a  thin  striped  grey-and-white  ridged  material ; 
sarcenet,  a  thin  silk;  damask,  a  rich  stuff  made  first  in 
Damascus,  and  made  in  "  such  manners  as  that  which  is 
not  satin  on  one  side  is  on  the  other";  serge,  a  woollen 
quilted  stuff  manufactured  on  a  loom  with  four  treadles  ; 
rateen,  a  thick  woollen  stuff  quilled.  "  There  are  some 
rateens  dressed  and  prepared  like  cloths ;  others  left  simply 
in  the  hair  ;  and  others  where  the  hair  or  nap  is  frized. 
Rateens  arc  chiefly  manufactured  in  France,  Holland  and 
Italy;  and  are  mostly  used  in  linings."  Frize,  a  sort  of 
coarse  rateen  ;  drugget  (see  page  17).  There  is  no  need 
for  us  to  enumerate  the  ways  in  which  the  above  materials 
are  used  since  their  frequent  occurrence  in  the  early  chap- 
ters of  this  book  has  made  the  reader  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  them. 

63* 


CARVED  ROSEWOOD  CHAIR 

Ozcned  by  Charles  B.   Tifrnan,  Esq.,  Baltimore,  Md.     See  page  638. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

In  England,  (^een  Mary's  fondness  for  East  Indian 
goods  bought  the  products  of  the  Indian  looms  into 
fashion,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
following  varieties  were  well-known  : 

Allejars,  Atlasses,  Addatties,  Allibannies,  Aubrowahs. 
Bafraes,  Brawles,  Bejurapauts,  Betellees,  Bulchauls,  Byram- 
pants,  Betelles,  Bafts,  Baguzzees,  Chints,  Chelloes, 
Coopees,  Callowaypoose,  Cuttannees,  China  cherrys, 
Cherriderrys,  Cushlahs,  Coffees,  Cuttanees,  Carradarries, 
Cheaconines,  Chucklaes,  Chowtars,  Culgees,  Dorcas,  Deri- 
bands,  Doodamies,  Doorguzzees,  Elatches,  Emerties,  Gor- 
gorans,  Guinea  stuffs,  Gurrahs,  Goaconcheleras,  Gurracs, 
Gelongs,  Ginghams,  Humadees,  Humhums,  Izzarees, 
Jamdannies,  Jamwars,  Luckhoories,  Moorees,  Mulmuls, 
Mamoodies,  Mahmudhiattees,  Mickbannies,  Negane- 
pants,  Nillaes,  Niccannees,  Peniascoes,  Pallampores. 
Photaes,  Pelongs,  Palampores,  Paunches,  Ponabaguzzees, 
Rehings,  Romalls,  Shalbafts,  Seersuckers,  Sallampores, 
Sovaguzzees,  Soofeys,  Seerbettees,  Sannoes,  Succatums,  Soo- 
seys,  Seerbands,  Tainsooks,  Terrindams,  Tapsiels,  Tepoys, 
Tanjeebs. 

In  the  first  decade  of  the  century  the  silken  goods 
were  as  follows  :  "  Silver  Tishea,  Pudsway,  Shaggs,  Tab- 
beys,  Mowhairs,  Grazets,  Broches,  Flowered  Damasks, 
Flowered  Lutestrings,  ditto  striped  and  plain,  Sarsnets, 
Italian  Mantuas,  Silk  Plushes,  Farrendines,  Shagreen,  Pop- 
lins, Silk  Crapes  and  Durants."  (Durant  was  a  variety  of 
Tammy.) 

The  woollen  fabrics  consisted  of  Hair  and  Woollen 
Camlets,  Hair  Plushes,  Spanish  and  English  Druggets,  Serge 
Denims,  Calamancoes,  Russells  (flowered  and  damask), 
Serges,  Shalloons,  Tammeys,  Ratteens  and  Salapeens. 

«J3 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Alamode,  a  thin,  glossy,  black  silk,  is  mentioned  in 
1676  in  company  with  **  Taffaties,  Sarsenets  and  Lutes." 

Two  beautiful  chairs  of  the  (^een  Anne  period  face 
page  628,  The  first  is  a  "  wing  chair,"  with  vsquare  high 
back,  wide  side  head-rests  and  high  arms  curving  out- 
wards. The  legs,  both  back  and  front,  are  cabriole  in 
shape.  The  date  is  about  1700.  The  second  chair  has  a 
high  back  and  seat  covered  with  tapestry  and  edged  with 
fringe.  It  has  cabriole  legs  and  hoof  feet  and  the  date  is 
about  1 710. 

Some  of  the  goods  are  mentioned  in  the  list  of 
Edward  Martyn,  a  shopkeeper  of  Boston,  who  has  the  fol- 
lowing stock  in  1 71 8:  "Striped  Linceys,  and  Flowered 
Serges ;  Bay  Holland  Garlix  and  other  linen  Garlix  and 
Dowlas ;  Holland  Bayes  and  Duck ;  Musling  and  Cam- 
brick  ;  Velvet  and  Shalloons ;  Ozenbrigs,  Salbafts,  and 
Bangalls;  Russell,  Callimanco  and  Stuff  Lutestring;  AUi- 
mode  and  Searsnett ;  Persians  and  Mantua  Silk  ;  Mohair 
and  Striped  Holland  and  Fustian  and  Tick;  Cherryderry 
and  Grass;  Taffety  and  Cantaloon;  Kersey,  Silk  Handker- 
chiefs and  Silk  Crepes,  Blue  and  Coloured  Druggets, 
Calicos,  blue  and  flowered  Durovs  and  Sazzathees." 

The  Boston  newspapers  supply  us  with  the  following  : 
Blue  callicoes,  chintzes,  muzlings  (1726);  India  damasks, 
chintzes,  camblets,  calimancoes  and  embossed  serges  ( 1 755); 
horsehair  and  brocaded  silk  (1757);  a  pair  of  good  green 
curtains  (1759);  beautiful  painted  canvas  hangings  for 
rooms  (1760);  yellow  and  crimson  silk  damask  window 
curtains  (1762);  worsted  furniture  check  (1764);  harra- 
teen  curtains  (1766);  and  green  harrateen  curtains  (1773). 

"  Worsted  damask,  rich,  suitable  for  furniture,"  is  im- 
ported in  the  Frame ;  **  checks  for  furniture"  (1757)  ;  fur- 

634 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

niture  and  china  blue  calicoes ;  blue  and  white  checks  for 
furniture  ;  **  tiowered  damasks  for  furniture  "  ( i  759)  ;  Tur- 
key-work seats  for  chairs  {1760)  ;  blue  and  green  worsted 
damask  for  furniture  ;  **  crimson,  blue,  green,  and  yellow 
h  .rrateens  with  lines  and  tossels  to  suit,  imported  in  the 
Albany  and  sold  by  Henry  Remsen ;  Indian  gimp  and 
bindings  of  various  sorts  (  1762)  ;  bobbing  and  Dutch  pret- 
ties for  furniture,  printed  cottons  for  furniture  and  furni- 
ture checks,  hair  cloth  for  chair  seats  and  stair  cases  (  1 764)  ; 
furniture  callicoe  single  and  in  two  blues,  large  pencill'd 
do.  for  furniture,  blue  and  white  furniture  binding  "  (  i  765 )  ; 
printed  and  pencill'd  furniture  calico,  purple,  dark  blue, 
pompadour  and  fancy  ground  chintz  ( 1 768 ).  James  Nixon, 
(^een  Street,  has  **  a  good  assortment  of  forest  cloths  with 
greens  tit  for  covering  tables  and  desks"  (1768).  Fine 
striped  lutestring  for  furniture,  sold  by  Samuel  Hake,  Wall 
Street  (1760);  furniture  checks  lines  and  tossels  for  do.  ; 
blue,  green,  scarlet,  and  yellow  furniture  checks,  blue  and 
white  furniture  callicoe,  furniture  harrateens  with  trim- 
mings to  suit,  furniture  cheneys  with  trimmings  to  suit 
(1771);  worsted  lutestrings,  striped  silk  damask,  handsome 
dark  and  light  ground  callicoes  and  chintzes,  red  and  white 
copper  plate  furniture ;  do.,  blue  and  white  pencil  do., 
common  blue  and  white  do.,  handsome  red  and  white  fur- 
niture do.  ;  India,  English,  and  Patna  chintzes,  copper- 
plate cotton  furniture,  elegant  chintz  do.,  India  chintzes 
for  bed  sprees,  Marseilles  quilts,  red  and  white,  blue  and 
white,  and  red  and  white  callicoe,  binding,  red  and  white, 
and  blue  and  white,  and  purple  cotton  furniture  (1772); 
Woodward  and  Kip  near  the  Fly  Market  have  "  rine  lay- 
lock  and  fancy  callicoes,  red,  blue  and  purple  fine  copper 
plate  ditto,  laylock,   lutestring,  light,  figured,  fancy,  shell, 

6}$ 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

pompadour  and  French  ground  fine  chintzes.  Purple,  blue, 
and  red  copper  plate  furniture  callicoes  ;  ditto  furniture 
bindings,  black,  blue,  brown,  Saxon,  green,  pea  green,  yel- 
low, crimson,  garnet,  pink  and  purple  moreens ;  blue  and 
white,  red  and  white,  purple  and  white  furniture  callicoes, 
blue  and  white  cotton  and  do.  chintz  furniture,  red  and 
white,  blue  and  white,  yellow  and  white,  crimson  and 
white,  green  and  white  furniture  checks  (1773);  Patna 
chintzes  (1774).  (For  the  introduction  of  copper  plate 
goods,  see  page  98.) 

Other  upholstery  goods  advertised  are  worsted  and  hair 
plush  (1777);  drapery  bays  (1783);  striped  and  plain  satin 
haircloth  (1790);  silk  damask  (1791);  red  chintz  furniture 
(1802);  an  elegant  set  of  crimson  damask  with  tassels, 
fringe,  lining  and  binding  (1803);  furniture  dimities, 
drapery  baize,  balloon  corded  furniture  dimities  (1803—4); 
furniture  moreens  (1808);  furniture  dimity  (1810);  furni- 
ture chintz  ( I  8 1 6);  moreen  damask  cotton  furniture  ( i  8 1 7); 
a  case  of  superior  hair  seating ;  a  bale  white  bed  laces,  a 
bale  cotton  balls,  handsome  moreen  window  curtains,  do. 
of  chintz,  dimity  and  silk,  60  patent  spring  and  hair  seats, 
moreen  satin  and  other  curtains  (1823);  black  hair  seating 
(1824);  white  cotton  fringe,  London  furniture  chintz 
(1825);  scarlet,  crimson,  lemon  and  blue  worsted  damask 
for  curtains  ( 1825);  "3  sets  crimson  moreen  window  curtains, 
two  sets  blue  and  orange,  two  of  scarlet  and  one  pearl 
with  muslin  drapery,  four  blue  moreen  window  curtains 
with  yellow  drapery,  scarlet  moreen  window  curtains ; 
500  pair  green  window  blinds  with  cornices,  brackets  and 
tassels  complete,  size  3  feet  to  4  feet  6  in.;  i  set  of  blue 
and  yellow  drapery  window  curtains,  and  3  sets  crimson 
and  blue  moreen  window  curtains"  (1826). 

636 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

Harrateen  was  a  kind  of  cloth  made  of  combing  wool ; 
durants  or  durance,  a  stout  worsted  cloth  ;  tammy,  a  cot- 
ton and  worsted  stuff,  twilled,  and  also  called  Scotch  camb- 
let.  Gimp  or  gymp  was  an  openwork  trimming  or  lace, 
superseded  by  the  French  word  passementerie ;  and  inkle 
was  a  kind  of  linen  tape,  braid,  or  lace,  used  as  early  as 
the  sixteenth  century;  it  was  also  a  kind  of  crewel,  or 
worsted,  embroidered  in  floral  designs. 

Some  idea  of  the  prices  may  be  gained  from  the  stock 
of  Thomas  Baxter,  an  upholsterer  of  Boston  (1751),  who 
had  "Goods  in  the  shop:  65^  yds.  Plateen,  j^i 21-18- 
o ;  88  yds.  Allepeen,  ^^60-3-6 ;  269  yds.  Camblett, 
^^137-17-3;  28  ruggs  and  11  bed  quilts,  ^^ 21 5-1 1-6 ; 
24  lbs.  brass  nails,  ^^89-18-0;  15  lbs.  girt  webb,  ;fi2; 
247  doz.  curtain  rings,  ^^15— 10— o;  107%  yds.  bed  tick, 
^^103— 2— 9;  bed  and  couch  bottoms,  ;fio;  7  suits  cur- 
tains, £()(>;  36  counterpins  and  coverlets,  ^^  172- 15-0; 
43/^  yds.  harrateen,  ^^34-1 6-0;  i  sett  tassels  and  fringe 
and  14  yds.  chaney,  j^  1 94-0-0  ;  18  yds.  harrateen,  j^' 39 4— 
18—0;  445^  yds.  chaney  in  remnants,  ^^25—1 0-0;  wood- 
work for  a  bed,  £2yy  158  pr.  blankets,  ^^49-2-6  ;  i  suit 
harrateen  curtains,  ^^42  ;  and  29  chairs  and  frames,  ;f  80— 
1 0-0. 

We  have  abundant  evidence  in  their  numerous  adver- 
tisements in  the  papers,  that  the  American  upholsterers 
kept  up  with  the  latest  London  and  Parisian  styles. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  special  styles  of  upholstering 
chairs,  sofas  and  beds  as  they  consecutively  appear : 

We  find  the  Turkey-work  chair  still  in  the  eighteenth 
century  ;  cane  and  leather  are  also  used  for  seats ;  horse- 
hair and  paduasoy  (see  page  104),  blue  silk  camlet,  blue 
chaney,    mohair,    yellow    damask,    crimson    worsted,  red 

637 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

china,  blue  leather,  crimson  harrateen,  figured  haircloth, 
hair  plush,  hair  camlet  and  hair  shags  are  also  used. 
Sheraton  was  fond  of  figured  silk  and  satin  with  printed 
ovals  (see  pages  478-480)  and  stripes.  His  chairs  frequently 
matched  his  sofas. 

For  the  coverings  of  his  chairs,  Chippendale  advocates 
Spanish  leather  or  damask  nailed  with  brass  nails,  tapes- 
try, needlework,  cane  bottoms  and  loose  cushions  ;  many 
of  his  seats  are  stufl^ed  over  the  rails  and  covered  with  the 
same  stuff  as  the  window  curtains  and  **  have  a  Brass 
Border  neatly  chased,  but  are  most  commonly  done  with 
Brass  Nails  in  one  or  two  rows ;  and  sometimes  the  nails 
are  done  to  imitate  Fretwork." 

Sometimes  the  dimensions  of  the  chairs  vary  to  suit  the 
size  of  the  rooms  ;  but  we  find  the  height  of  the  back 
seldom  exceeds  22  in.  above  the  seats.  For  his  French 
chairs,  the  backs  and  seats  of  which  are  stuffed  and  cov- 
ered with  Spanish  leather  or  damask,  **  the  seat  is  27  in. 
wide  from  the  front  to  the  back,  and  23  in.  behind;  the 
height  of  the  back  is  25  in.  and  the  height  of  the  seat, 
14^  in.  including  casters."  Of  his  famous  "  Ribband- 
Back "  chairs  he  says:  "If  the  seats  are  covered  with 
red   Morocco,  they  will  have  a  fine  effect." 

The  chair,  facing  page  634  is  an  excellent  example  of 
fine  contrasted  colour;  the  framework  is  of  carved  rose- 
wood, a  wood  that  again  became  very  popular  about  181  8. 
The  seat  and  back  of  this  chair  are  covered  with  yellow 
brocade.  This  chair  belongs  to  Charles  B.  Tiernan,  Esq., 
of  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  is  a  family  piece. 

The  proportions  of  the  Heppelwhite  chair  are :  wi'dth 
in  front,  20  inches  ;  depth  of  the  seat,  i  7  inches  ;  height 
of  the  seat  frame,  1 7  inches  ;   total  height,  about   3  feet  I 

638 


'^ 

li 

n 

1    k^^^M- 

i 

■•■^•j 

^T 

1 

91 

w 

\^^L. 

"■»•  •+«' 

^^ 

«||, 

)nTn. 

fi    ri 

m 

'V 

■Wj  !       .  ■;4'f:*^i^J 

k  / 

m  ' 

r 

1 

1 

II 

T 

r 

CHINA    CUPBOARD    AND    TWO    SHERATON    CHAIRS 

O'wmtd  by  Mrs.  Williaa  Vomng,  Baltimore,  MJ.      See  page  Ojg. 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

inch.     Other  dimensions  are  frequently  adopted,  "  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  room  or  pleasure  of  the  purchaser." 

Many  elegant  chairs  had  backs  and  seats  of  red  or  blue 
morocco  leather,  and  sometimes  medallions,  printed  or 
painted  on  silk  of  the  natural  colours  were  inserted  on  the 
backs,  which  were  often  circular.  **  Leather  backs  or 
seats  should  be  tied  down  with  tassels  of  silk  or  thread  ** 
is  another  instruction  for  the  Heppelwhite  chair. 

Among  the  examples  of  Heppelwhite  chairs  repre- 
sented on  pages  461,  465  and  467,  and  facing  92  and  454, 
we  may  call  attention  to  those  on  page  467,  which  are 
correctly  upholstered,  especially  with  regard  to  the  brass 
nails  on  the  chair  to  the  left.  Silk,  satin,  leather  or  horse- 
hair (striped,  figured,  checked  or  plain)  are  the  appropri- 
ate materials  for  this  style  of  chair. 

Sheraton  chairs  occur  on  pages  272  (left),  429  and  435. 

Those  on  pages  473  and  475  and  facing  638  are  cov- 
ered correctly  with  striped  materials.  In  his  late  years,  he 
made  Herculaneums  and  "  conversation  chairs  "  (see  pages 
48 3-4), and  many  curious  designs.  "Conversation  chairs" 
are  advertised  in  America.      (See  page  539.) 

Two  excellent  Sheraton  chairs  correctly  upholstered 
face  page  638  in  company  with  a  "beaufait  "or  china  cup- 
board of  much  more  recent  date  than  those  on  pages  354 
and  363  and  facing  page  352.  This,  however,  contains 
many  examples  of  fine  china  tastefully  arranged.  One  of 
the  chairs  is  upholstered  with  a  brocade  of  varied  hues, 
and  the  other  is  of  yellow  silk  and  satin  in  stripes.  These 
pieces  are  owned  by  Mrs.  William  Young,  in  Baltimore, 
Md.  Another  *•  Beaufait  "  appears  in  the  room  facing 
page  632.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  these  chairs  with 
those  on  pages  473  and  475. 

639 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

From  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  favourite  chair  was  the  "  Fancy  Chair."  This  was,  how- 
ever, introduced  in  New  York  as  early  as  1 797,  when 
William  Challen,  Fancy  Chair-maker  from  London, 
"  manufactures  all  sorts  of  dyed,  japanned,  wangee  and 
bamboo  chairs,  settees,  etc.,  and  every  article  in  the  fancy 
chair  line  executed  in  the  neatest  manner,  and  after  the 
newest  and  most  approved  London  patterns." 

In  1802,  William  Palmer,  2  Nassau  Street,  New  York, 
advertises  **  a  large  assortment  of  elegant,  well-made  and 
highly  finished  black  and  gold,  etc..  Fancy  Chairs,  with 
cane  and  rush  bottoms ;  in  1 806,  William  Mott,  5 1 
Broadway,  furniture  japanner,  **  has  a  large  assortment  of 
elegant  and  well-made  fancy  chairs  of  the  newest  patterns." 
Richard  Marsh,  Greenwich  Street,  has  the  same  year  fancy 
and  Windsor  chairs  for  sale,  and  will  repair,  panel  and 
ornament  old  chairs ;  Patterson  and  Dennis,  54  John 
Street,  inform  their  friends  that  that  they  have  "  a  large 
and  very  elegant  assortment  of  Fancy  chairs  of  the  newest 
patterns  and  finished  in  a  superior  style.  Elegant  white, 
coquilicot,  green,  etc.,  and  gilt  drawing-room  chairs,  with 
cane  and  rush  seats,  together  with  a  handsome  assortment 
of  dining  and  bedroom  chairs,  etc." 

In  181 2,  Asa  Holden,  32  Broad  Street,  has  "a  superb 
assortment  of  highly  finished  fancy  chairs,  such  as  double 
and  single  cross  fret  chain  gold,  ball  and  spindle  back,  with 
cane  and  rush  seats,  etc.,  of  the  latest  and  most  fashionable 
patterns;"  and  in  18 14,  he  advertises  again.  In  i  8  1 7, 
William  Shureman,  1 7  Bowery,  has  "  fancy  and  Windsor 
chairs,"  and  will  paint  and  re-gild  old  chairs ;  in  the 
same  year  Wharton  and  Davies,  fancy  chair  manufac- 
turers, offer  for  sale  an  elegant  assortment  of  curled  maple 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

p>ainted,  ornamented  landscape,  sewing  and  rocking  chairs, 
lounges,  settees,  sofas,  music  stools,  etc.  In  1819,  they 
have  curled  maple,  rosewood  and  fancy  painted  chairs  and 
sofas  richly  ornamented  in  gold  and  bronze  with  hair, 
cane  and  rush  seats. 


"FANCY  "    SETTEE 
Owned  by  Mn.  Edward  Rankin  at  Chtrry  Hilt,  Albany,  New  York.      See  below. 

**  Fancy  Chairs"  have  already  been  represented  on  page 
I  1 9,  second  from  the  left;  and  on  page  475  on  the  right 
of  the  letter-case. 

A  settee  that  was  a  companion  to  the  "Fancy  Chair" 
appears  on  this  page.  This  belongs  to  Mrs.  Edward  Ran- 
kin at  Cherry  Hiily  Albany,  N.  Y.  A  chair  that  came  in 
under  the  Empire,  and  finds  its  origin  in  Egyptian  and 
Greek  models,  quickly  took  the  place  of  all  the  old  Chip- 
pendale, Heppclwhite  and  Sheraton  models,  and  held  its 
own  as  the  typical  dining-room  chair  almost  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  This  was  the  "  Trafalgar  Chair,"  which  received 
its  name  from  that  action,  which  occurred  very  soon  after 


TKTE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

its  introduction.  The  pattern,  which  is  famihar  to  every- 
body, occurs  facing  page  562  (on  the  left). 

In  1814,  the  fashion  was  : 

"  Light  chairs  for  best  bedchambers  (cane  seats),  sec- 
ondary drawing-rooms  and  occasionally  to  serve  for  routs. 
These  may  be  stained  black,  or,  as  the  present  taste  is, 
veined  with  vitriol,  stained  with  logwood,  and  polished  to 
imitate  rosewood  ;   the  seats  caned." 

Regarding  sofas,  Heppelwhite  says  their  dimensions 
should  vary  according  to  the  size  of  the  room  and  pleas- 
ure of  the  purchaser,  but  **  the  proportion  in  general  use  " 
is,  length  between  6  and  7  feet ;  depth  about  30  inches  ; 
height  of  the  seat  frame,  1 4  inches ;  total  in  the  back,  3 
feet  I  inch.  The  woodwork  should  be  either  mahogany 
or  japanned  to  suit  the  chairs  in  the  room,  and  the  cover- 
ing must  match  that  of  the  chairs.  Four  designs  of  sofas 
appear  in  his  book. 

He  also  gives  designs  for  the  Confidante  and  the  Duch- 
esse,  two  species  of  sofa.  Of  the  first  he  says :  "  This 
piece  of  furniture  is  of  French  origin,  and  is  in  pretty 
general  request  for  large  and  spacious  suits  of  apartments. 
An  elegant  drawing-room,  with  modern  furniture,  is  scarce 
complete  without  a  Confidante,  the  extent  of  which  may 
be  about  nine  feet,  subject  to  the  same  regulations  as  sofas. 
This  piece  of  furniture  is  sometimes  so  constructed  that 
the  ends  take  away  and  leave  a  regular  sofa  ;  the  ends  may 
be  used  as  "  Barjier  Chairs." 

Of  the  Duchesse,  he  writes:  "This  piece  of  furniture 
is  also  derived  from  the  French.  Two  Barjier  chairs  of 
proper  construction,  with  a  stool  in  the  middle,  form  the 
Duchesse,  which  is  allotted  to  large  and  spacious  ante- 
rooms;  the   covering   may  be  various,  as  also   the   frame- 

64a 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

work,  and  made  from  six  to  eight  feet  long.  The  stuff- 
ing may  be  of  the  round  manner  as  shown  in  the  drawing, 
or  low-stuffed  with  a  loose  squab  or  bordered  cushion  fitted 
to  each  part ;  with  a  duplicate  linen  cover  to  cover  the 
whole,  or  each  part  separately.  Confidantes,  sofas  and 
chairs  may  be  stuffed  in  the  same  manner." 


MAHOGANY    SOFA 
Owned  by  Mn.  John  Sparhawk  Jones,  PhiLidelphia.     See  page  645. 

His  graceful  "  Window  stools  "  are  made  of  mahogany 
or  they  are  japanned.  He  recommends  two  of  his  designs 
**to  be  covered  with  linen  or  cotton  to  match  the  chairs." 
The  covering  of  one  is  tufted  and  caught  with  buttons. 
The  other  has  a  scalloped  valance  edged  with  fringe,  and 
in  the  centre  of  each  scallop  hangs  a  tiny  tassel.  Another 
stool  he  wishes  japanned  and  covered  *'  with  striped  furni- 
ture"; another,  of  carved  mahogany,  "with  furniture  of 
an  elegant  pattern  festooned  in  front,  will  produce  a  very 
pleasing  effect."  Two  other  window  stools  "are  particu- 
larly adapted  for  an  elegant  drawing-room  of  japanned  fur- 
niture ;  the  covering  should  be  of  taberray  or  morine  of 
pea-green  or  other  light  colour.     The  size  of  the  window 

«4S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

stools  must  be  regulated  by  the  size  of  the  place  where 
they  are  to  stand ;  their  heights  should  not  exceed  the 
heights  of  the  chairs." 

Sheraton  gave  much  attention  to  the  sofa  (see  page 
482).  One  is  a  "  Sofa  done  in  white  and  gold,  or  ja- 
panned. Four  loose  cushions  are  placed  at  the  back.  They 
serve  at  times  for  bolsters,  being  placed  against  the  arms  to 
loll  against.  The  seat  is  stuffed  up  in  front  about  three 
inches  high  above  the  rail,  denoted  by  the  figure  of  the 
sprig  running  lengthwise  ;  all  above  that  is  a  squab,  which 
may  be  taken  off  occasionally." 

Turkey  sofas  "  introduced  into  the  most  fashionable 
houses"  are  a  novelty.  They  are  **an  imitation  of  the 
Turkish  mode  of  sitting.  They  are,  therefore,  made  very 
low,  scarcely  exceeding  a  foot  to  the  upper  side  of  the 
cushion.  The  frame  may  be  made  of  beech,  and  must  be 
webbed  and  strained  with  canvas  to  support  the  cushions." 

Sheraton  also  makes  the  Chaise  LonguCy  which  he  says 
derive  their  name  **  long  chair"  from  the  French  and  **  their 
use  is  to  rest  or  loll  upon  after  dinner." 

In  1821,  the  fashionable  sofa  is  thus  described  :  **  For 
decorations  of  the  highest  class  the  frame  work  would  be 
entirely  gilt  in  burnished  and  matt  gold,  the  pillows  and 
covering  of  satin  damask  or  velvet,  relieved  by  wove  gold 
lace  and  tossels.  For  furniture  of  less  splendour  the  frames 
would  be  of  rosewood,  with  the  carved  work  partly  gilt 
and  the  covering  of  more  simple  materials. 

**  The  loom  of  our  country  is  now  in  that  advanced 
state  of  perfection  that  damasks  of  the  most  magnificent 
kind  in  point  of  intensity  of  colour  and  richness  of  pattern 
are  manufactured  at  prices  that  permit  their  free  use  in 
well-furnished  apartments." 

644 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

The  four  sofas  appearing  on  pages  573,  643,  649  and 
below  are  interesting  studies  for  comparison.  The  one  on 
page  643,  owned  by  Mrs.  John  Sparhawk  Jones,  of  Phila- 
delphia, is  of  the  Sheraton  model  (see  page  481).  The 
Empire  sofa,  owned  by  Mrs.  William  Young,  Baltimore, 
Md.,on  page  573  is  a  tine  example  of  the  period,  with  its 
metal  dolphins  gracefully  curved  along  the  scroll  ends  ; 
the  third,  owned  by  the  Worcester  Society  of  Antiquity,  is 


MAHOGANY     SOFA 
Owned  by  Mr.  Thompson  S.  Grant,  Enlield,  Conn.     See  below. 

a  fine  instance  of  the  awkward,  clumsy  and  heavy  designs 
that  succeeded  the  Empire  and  Grecian  periods.  The 
legs  are  particularly  ungraceful ;  the  swan's  neck  is  used 
as  a  design  for  the  scroll  ends.  The  fourth,  owned  by 
Mr.  Thompson  S.  (irant,  Enfield,  Conn.,  is  a  good  type 
of  the  sofa  still  familiar  in  many  old  houses,  and  might 
have  been  made  anywhere  from   1820  to  1840. 

Some  of  the  most  popular  hangings  for  beds  were 
crimson  damask,  blue,  yellow,  crimson  and  green  harra- 
tccn,  yellow  camlet  lined  with  silk  and  laced,  yellow 
watered  worsted,  crimson  mohair,  crimson   worsted,  green 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

china,  crimson  damask,  yellow  silk  damask,  wrought  fus- 
tian, moreen  and  russell  of  various  colours,  dornix,  worsted 
damask,  camlet,  callimanco,  worked  fustian,  flowered  dam- 
ask and  russells,  blue  and  green  flowered  russell  damask, 
flowered  tabby,  and  dark  say.  Besides  the  above  materials, 
which  were  of  silk  or  worsted,  or  a  mixture  of  each,  there 
was  a  large  variety  of  cotton  goods  such  as  dimity,  plain, 
figured  and  corded;  India  and  English  chintz;  Patna 
chintz;  and  many  kinds  of  copperplate  furniture,  made  of 
cotton  stamped  with  pictures.  The  latter  was  imported 
from  England  as  early  as  1758  (see  also  page  280).  For 
decoration,  silk  fringe  and  "snail  trimming  "  of  all  colours, 
gimp  and  inkle  were  used  and  the  "lines  and  tossels  "  that 
the  upholsterers  advertise  so  frequently  after  the  middle  of 
the  century  show  plainly  that  the  curtains  are  submitting 
to  the  decree  of  fashion.  The  old  square  valance  is  disap- 
pearing and  the  draperies  are  hung  in  festoons  and  orna- 
mented with  conventional  swags  and  rosettes,  and  drawn 
up  or  down  by  means  of  ingenious  pullies  and  cords.  The 
period  might  be  termed  the  age  of  upholstery,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  plates  and  descriptions  of  beds  given  by 
Chippendale,  Heppelwhite  and  Sheraton  alone.  Chip- 
pendale gives  "  Dome  Beds,"  "  Canopy  Beds,"  **  Gothic 
Beds,"  "  Chinese  Beds,"  "Couch  Beds"  and  "Tent  Beds." 
He  gives  separate  designs  for  their  pillows  and  cornices 
carved  with  his  favourite  ornaments.  Sometimes  the  cor- 
nices are  gilt,  and  again  "  covered  with  the  same  stufl^  as 
the  curtains,"  and  the  latter  "can  be  made  to  draw  up  in 
drapery  or  to  run  on  a  rod." 

In  every  one  of  his  designs,  the  cornice  and  draperies 
are  very  important,  as  is  also  the  arrangement  of  the  laths 
and  pullies  to  draw  up  the  curtains,  for   the    latter  had  to 

646 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

arrange  themselves  into  symmetrical  festoons  and  loops 
when  drawn  up.  He  makes  great  use  of  the  cord  and 
tassel.  As  a  rule,  his  beds  are  6  ft.  7  in.  long  and  6  ft. 
wide;  while  the  pillars  are  8  ft.  6  in.  high.  The  "furni- 
ture "  of  all  the  tent  bedsteads  **  is  made  to  take  off  and 
the  laths  are  hung  with  hinges  for  the  convenience  of 
folding  up."  His  sofas,  or  couch  beds,  were  intricate  :  a 
design  ot  a  sofa  has  "a  Chinese  Canopy  with  Curtains  and 
Valances  tied  up  in  Drapery,  and  may  be  converted  into 
a  Bed  by  making  the  front  part  of  the  seat  to  draw  for- 
ward, and  the  sides  made  to  fold  and  turn  in  with  strong 
iron  hinges  and  a  proper  stretcher  to  keep  out  and  sup- 
port the  sides  when  open.  The  curtains  must  be  likewise 
made  to  come  forward,  and  when  let  down  will  form  a 
Tent." 

Another  bed  Chippendale  describes  is  a  "  Couch  with 
Canopy.  The  Curtains  must  be  made  to  draw  up  in 
Drapery,  or  to  let  down,  when  it  is  occasionally  converted 
into  a  Bed.  This  sort  of  Couch  is  very  tit  for  alcoves,  or 
such  deep  Recesses  as  are  often  seen  in  large  Apartments. 
It  may  also  be  placed  at  the  end  of  a  long  gallery.  If 
the  Curtains  and  Valances  are  adorned  with  a  large  gold 
Fringe  and  Tassels,  and  the  ornaments  gilt  with  burnished 
gold,  it  will  look  very  grand." 

The  "field-bed"  had  early  lost  its  character  of  being 
suited  only  for  the  tented  camp.  It  was,  however,  lighter 
than  the  four-post  bedstead  with  cornice  and  tester.  Light 
curved  bars  joining  the  tops  of  the  posts  formed  a  kind  of 
dome  for  the  curtains;  thus  the  "field-bed"  probably  took 
its  name  from  the  resemblance  it  retained  to  the  tent. 

In  1736,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Harward  of  Boston 
owned  a  "  field  bedstead  with   blue   curtains,  ;t'8."      Fifty 

6*7 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

years  later  Heppelwhite  supplies  designs  for  **  sweeps  "  for 
the  tops,  and,  perhaps,  contributes  materially  to  making 
the  field-bed  fashionable.  A  "Heppelwhite"  bed  with 
one  of  his  characteristic  "sweeps"  appears  on  page  454. 
According  to  Heppelwhite's  design,  the  top  central  bar 
and  the  two  side  posts  are  surmounted  by  urns.  The  cur- 
tains, of  course,  are  equally  divided  by  falling  from  the 
centre  of  the  dome  straight  down  along  the  side  of  the 
bed.  The  one  to  the  left  is  thrown  back  and  looped  over 
an  ornamental  staple.  The  counterpane  should  be  stretched 
tightly  across  the  bed,  and  the  petticoat  valance  hang  in 
rigid  folds.  The  bolster,  which  the  looped-back  curtain 
exhibits,  should  be  a  long  narrow  roll.  There  are  no  pil- 
lows. Some  of  the  field  bedsteads  had  the  tops  sloped 
from  the  head  to  the  foot. 

We  find  the  field-bed,  made  of  mahogany  and  curled 
maple,  advertised  as  late  as  1826,  in  company  with  high- 
post  and  French  bedsteads. 

In  addition  to  the  **  Field-bed,"  Heppelwhite  gives  de- 
signs of  the  "  Venetian  or  Waggon  Top,"  "  Dome  Top," 
"Square  Dome  Top,"  and  "Press  Beds,"  which  fold,  and 
are  similar  to  a  wardrobe  in  shape. 

All  of  these  beds,  Heppelwhite  tells  us,  "  may  be  exe- 
cuted of  almost  every  stufl^  the  loom  produces.  White 
dimity,  plain  or  corded,  is  peculiarly  applicable  for  the 
furniture,  which,  with  a  fringe  or  gymp-head,  produces  an 
effect  of  elegance  and  neatness  truly  agreeable.  The  Man- 
chester stuffs  have  been  wrought  into  Bed-furniture  with 
good  success.  Printed  cottons  and  linens  are  also  very 
suitable."  In  general  he  recommends  plain  white  cotton 
for  lining  the  draperies,  and  states  that  for  furniture  of  a 
dark  pattern   "a  green  silk   lining  may  be  used  with  good 

64S 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

effect,"  and  adds,  a  bed  with  "dove-coloured  satin-cur- 
tains and  green  silk  lining  would  afford  as  much  scope  for 
taste,  elegance  and  simplicity  as  the  most  capricious  fancy 
can  wish."  Yet  Heppelwhite  cared  little  or  nothing  for 
cold  white  bed  furniture  in  luxurious  apartments,  as  will  be 
seen  from  his  following  instructions  : 


SOFA 

Owned  origiiully   by   Chariet  C.   Pratt   of  Worcester ;  now  bjr  the  Worcester  Society  of  Antiquity, 
Worcester,  Mass.     See  page  645. 

"  In  Staterooms  where  a  high  degree  of  elegance  and 
grandeur  are  wanted,  beds  are  frequently  made  of  silk  or 
satin  figured  or  plain,  also  of  velvet  with  gold  fringe,  etc. 

"  The  Vallance  to  elegant  beds  should  alwavs  be  gath- 
ered full,  which  is  called  a  Petticoat  Vallance.  The  Cor- 
nices may  be  either  of  mahogany  carved,  carved  or  gilt, 
or  painted  and  japanned.  The  ornaments  over  the  cor- 
nices may  be  in  the  same  manner. 

"  Arms  or  other  ornaments  to  Stuffed  Head  Board? 
should  be  carved  in  small  relief,  gilt  and  burnished.  The 
Pillars  should  be  of  mahogany,  with  the  embellishments 
carved." 

649 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

One  design  for  a  bed  with  a  "sweep  top,  with  gilt 
ornaments  or  mahogany,  shows  a  stuffed  headboard  with 
ornaments  and  drapery  over  it."  The  curtains  falling 
from  the  cornice  hang  over  this  again.  "The  drapery," 
Heppel white  says,  "  may  be  the  same  as  the  furniture  or 
the  lining:  the  ornaments  gilt;  the  headboard  is  stuff^ed 
and  projects  like  the  back,  of  a  sofa.  The  addition  of 
stufi^ed  headboards  gives  an  elegant  and  high  finish  to  the 
appearance  of  beds." 

Sheraton  carries  upholstery  still  further  in  the  decora- 
tion of  his  bedsteads.  Indeed,  with  him  the  frame  be- 
comes of  comparatively  little  importance.  He  was  par- 
ticularly fond  of  the  dome  (see  page  483  i.  His  book 
contains  several  complicated  beds.  Of  the  French  State 
Bed,  he  says:  "Beds  of  this  kind  have  been  introduced  of 
late  with  great  success  in  England,"  and  goes  on  to  de- 
scribe that  "  the  dome  is  supported  by  iron  rods  of  about 
an  inch  in  diameter,  curved  regularly  down  to  each  pillar 
where  they  are  fixed  with  a  strong  screw  and  nut.  These 
iron  rods  are  covered  and  entirely  hid  by  a  valance,  which 
comes  in  a  regular  sweep,  and  meets  in  a  point  at  the 
vases  on  the  pillars.  Behind  this  valance,  which  continues 
all  round,  the  drapery  is  drawn  up  by  pulleys  and  tied  up 
by  a  silken  cord  and  tassels  at  the  head  of  the  pillars. 
The  headboards  of  these  beds  are  framed  and  stuffed,  and 
covered  to  suit  the  hangings,  and  the  frame  is  white  and 
gold,  if  the  pillars  and  cornice  are.  The  bed-frame  is 
sometimes  ornamented,  and  has  drapery  valances  below. 
Observe  that  grooves  are  made  in  the  pillars  to  receive  the 
headboards,  and  screwed  at  the  top,  by  which  means  the 
whole  is  kept  firm,  and  is  easily  taken  to  pieces.  Square 
bolsters,  are  now  often  introduced,  with   margins  of  vari- 

6|0 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

ous  colours  stitched  all  round.  The  counterpane  has  also 
these  margins;  they  are  also  fringed  at  bottom,  and  have 
sometimes  a  drapery  tied  up  in  cords  and  tassels  on  the 
side."      Then  he  devscribes  the  "sofa-bed"  as  follows: 

"  The  frames  of  these  beds  are  sometimes  painted  in 
ornaments  to  suit  the  furniture.  But  when  the  furniture 
•s  of  such  rich  silk,  they  are  done  in  white   and  gold,  and 


SOFA 
Owned  by  Mn.  H.  John  Symondt,  Charleston,  S.  C.     See  page  654. 


the  ornaments  carved.  The  tablets  may  each  have  a  fes- 
toon  of  flowers  or  foliage,  and  the  cornice  cut  out  in 
leaves  and  gilt  has  a  good  effect.  The  drapery  under  the 
cornice  is  of  the  French  kind;  it  is  fringed  all  round,  and 
laps  on  to  each  other  like  unto  waves.  The  valance  serves 
as  a  ground,  and  is  also  fringed.  The  roses  which  tuck 
up  the  curtains  are  formed  by  silk  cord,  etc.,  on  the  wall, 
to  suit  the  hangings;  and  observe  that  the  centre  rose  con- 
tains a  brass  hook  and  socket,  which  will  unhook  so  that 
the  curtains  will  come  forward  and  entirely  enclose  the 
whole  bed.      The  sofa  part  is  sometimes  made  without  any 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

back,  in  the  manner  of  a  couch.  It  must  also  be  observed 
that  the  best  kinds  of  these  beds  have  behind  what  the 
upholsterers  call  a  fluting,  which  is  done  by  a  slight  frame 
ot  wood  fastened  to  the  wall,  on  which  is  strained  in 
straight  puckers,  some  of  the  same  stufl?*  of  which  the  cur- 
tains are  made." 

Sheraton's  bed  stood  very  high  from  the  floor  and 
needed  bed-steps.  In  describing  his"  alcove  bed,"  he  says: 
**  The  steps  are  introduced  to  show  that  beds  of  this  sort 
are  raised  high  and  require  something  to  step  on  before 
they  can  be  got  into.  The  steps  are  generally  covered 
with  carpet  and  framed  in  mahogany.  Both  this,  the  sofa, 
and  French  state  bed  require  steps.  The  dome  of  this  bed 
is  fixed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  other  ;  but  the  roses  to 
which  the  curtains  are  tucked  up  are  different.  This  is 
made  of  tin  and  covered  with  the  stufi^of  the  bed,  and  un- 
buckles to  take  in  the  curtains  behind  the  rose.  Upon 
the  fluting,  as  before  mentioned,  is  fixed  a  drapery  in  this 
as  shown  in  the  design  ;  and  sometimes  in  the  arch  of  the 
alcove  a  drapery  is  introduced." 

The  Empire  bed  and  the  **  French  bed,"  of  which  we 
give  a  few  descriptions  (see  pages  653— 4),  are  no  less  depend- 
ent on  draperies  for  their  effect  than  the  above  kinds  which 
they  supplanted. 

Let  us  take  a  few  more  examples:  in  18 16,  a  ///  de 
repoSy  or  sofa  bed,  **  has  a  peculiar  character  of  unaffected 
ease,  and  is  not  without  its  full  claim  to  elegance.  The 
sofa  is  of  the  usual  construction  and  the  draperies  are 
thrown  over  a  sceptre  rod  projecting  from  the  walls  of  the 
apartment:  they  are  of  silk,  as  is  the  courte  pointe  also." 
The  one  who  is  describing  it  says  :  **  In  fashions  as  in 
manners  it  sometimes  happens  that  one  extreme  immedi- 

6^1 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR   FOREFATHERS 

itely  usurps  the  place  of  the  other,  without  regarding  their 
intervening  degrees  of  approximation.  For  the  precise  in 
dress  the  French  have  adopted  the  deshabille ;  and  it  has 
been  applied  to  their  articles  of  furniture  in  many  instances, 
giving  to  them  an  air  which  amateurs  term  neglige."  An- 
other fashionable  bed  of  the  same  year  is  made  of  rosewood 
ornamented  with  carved  foliage,  gilt  in  matt  and  burnished 
gold.  .  The  drapery  is  of  rose-coloured  silk  lined  with 
azure  blue,  and  consists  of  one  curtain  gathered  up  at  the 
ring  in  the  centre  of  the  canopy,  being  full  enough  to 
form  the  festoons  and  curtains  both  of  the  head  and  foot. 
The* elegance  of  this  bed  greatly  depends  on  the  choice, 
arrangement  and  modification  of  the  three  primitive  col- 
ours, blue,  yellow  and  red  ;  and  in  the  combination  of 
these  its  chasteness  or  gaiety  may  be  augmented  or 
abridged."  The  curtain  was  edged  with  fringe.  A  small 
bed  intended  for  the  apartment  of  a  young  lady  of  fashion 
had  hangings  of  a  **  light  blue  silk,  the  ornaments  being 
of  a  tender  shade  of  brown  and  the  linings  to  correspond  ; 
they  are  supported  by  rings  and  rods  of  brass,  behind  which 
the  curtains  are  suspended  and  drawn  up  by  silk  cords  en- 
riched with  tassels."  A  fourth  "  English  bed  "  of  this  same 
year  has  beautiful  curtains  of  pea  green,  pale  poppy  and 
canary.  This  is  designed  by  Mr.  G.  Bulloch,  and  the 
critic  approves  of  it  by  saying :  "  The  abandonment  of 
that  profusion  of  drapery  which  has  long  been  fashiona- 
ble has  admitted  this  more  chastened  style  in  point  of 
forms,  and  has  introduced  a  richness  in  point  of  colours 
that  has  long  been  neglected." 

In  1817,  a  canopy  or  sofa  bed  has  draperies  of  silk 
"  ornamented  with  the  lace  and  fringe  which  are  so  ad- 
mirable  an  imitation  of   gold  ;   the   linings  are   lilac  and 

6«J 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

buff.  A  muslin  embroidered  drapery  is  applied  as  a  cov- 
sring  in  the  daytime.  The  outside  curtains  that  fall  from 
a  kind  of  crown  are  dark  green." 

We  learn  that,  in  1822,  **  the  taste  for  French  furniture 
is  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  most  elegantly  furnished 
mansions,  particularly  the  sleeping-rooms,  are  fitted  up  in 
the  French  style ;  and  we  must  confess  that,  while  the 
antique  forms  the  basis  of  their  decorative  and  ornamental 
furniture,  it  will  deservedly  continue  in  repute."  The 
sofa  or  French  bed,  "  designed  and  decorated  in  the  French 
style,"  which  is  selected  as  an  example,  is  said  to  be 
adapted  for  apartments  of  superior  elegance."  It  is 
"highly  ornamented  with  Grecian  ornaments,  in  burnished 
and  matt  gold.  The  cushions  and  inner  coverlids  are  of 
white  satin.  The  outer  covering  is  of  muslin  in  order  to 
display  the  ornaments  to  advantage,  and  bear  out  the  rich- 
ness of  the  canopy.  The  dome  is  composed  of  alternate 
pink  and  gold  fluting,  surrounded  with  ostrich  feathers, 
forming  a  novel,  light  and  elegant  effect;  the  drapery  is 
green  satin  with  a  salmon-coloured  lining." 

The  curiously  shaped  sofa,  facing  page  648,  dates  from 
about  1825  or  i  830,  and  is  properly  known  as  a  **  Psyche  " 
and  also  as  a  **  Kangaroo."  The  frame  is  of  mahogany. 
This  is  owned  by  Mrs.  J.  Adair  Pleasants,  Richmond,  Va. 

The  sofa,  on  page  651,  belonging  to  Mrs.  John  Symonds, 
Charleston,  S.  C,  is  similar  in  many  respects  to  models 
that  appear  in  English  periodicals  of  fashion  in  182 1.  It 
is  of  mahogany  and  striped  silk  of  white  and  pale  green. 
The  late  Empire  characteristics  are  still  observable. 

The  settee,  on  the  frontispiece,  is  of  mahogany,  with 
stuffed  seat  covered  with  printed  velvet.  This  belongs  to 
the  Chippendale  school    and   dates    from   the  second  half 

ftS4 


THE  FURNITURE  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS 

of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  frame  is  elaborately 
carved  with  a  leaf  design  and  rosettes,  and  the  central 
panel,  which  is  of  the  old  jar-shape,  is  pierced  with  a  scroll 
forming  the  figure  eight  in  two  sizes.  The  arms  are 
curved.  Six  cabriole  legs  support  the  settee,  the  front 
ones  being  carved  at  the  spring  and  ending  in  volutes. 
This  handsome  piece  is  owned  by  the  Museum  of  Science 
and  Art,  Dublin. 

The  illustration  facing  page  632  is  a  room  in  the  home 
of  Mrs.  John  Marshall  Holcombe,  Hartford,  Conn. 
The  house  was  built  in  1815:  of  the  woodwork  in  this 
room  the  wainscotting  alone  is  new.  The  chairs  are  of  the 
Chippendale  school;  the  inlaid  sideboard  is  of  the  Heppel- 
white  period  (with  modern  handles);  the  looking-glass 
above  it  is  carved  and  gilt ;  and  the  clock  on  the  mantel- 
piece is  Empire.  The  handsomest  piece  of  furniture  is  the 
mahogany  table,  which  is  an  extraordinarily  fine  example. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


AcACiAf  Thobm,  $16. 

Acajou,  594. 

Acker  wood,  589. 

Adam   furniture,    464-9,     $96, 

617. 
Adaim,  Nathaniel  (joiner),  itock 

of,  I7«. 
AlanMde,  634. 

AUerton,  Isaac,  165-6,  171. 
AUyn,  Alex.,   inventory  of,  232. 
Ambojma  %<rood,  586,  589. 
Androuet,  Jacques,  book  of,  19$. 
Ash,  160,  173,  178,  313,  586. 
Aspen,  $86. 
Atlantic  passage,  27. 
Atlantic  voyagen,  eariy,  162. 

Bancoubs,  14. 

B*y,  tj*.  149 

Beaufait,  134,  171,  3$Z-$. 

Beautrt.      Sec  Beaufait. 

Beaufen.      See  Beaufait. 

Beaufit.      See  Beau£ut. 

Bed,  the,  10-18,  64$-54. 

—  Chippendale,  446,  646-7. 

—  Empire,  65Z. 

—  Feather,  144. 

—  Field,  141,  647-8. 

—  Flock,  144. 

—  Folding,  349. 

—  Fumishinp,  41,  93,  141-4, 
103-$,  179-80,  645-6, 
648-50. 

—  Heppelwhite,  648-50. 

—  High-post,  103. 

—  Kermesse,  250-1. 

—  Mahogany  settee,  141. 

—  Rhyme  about,  15. 

—  Sacking-bottom,    16,   140-I, 

•44 

—  Sea,  140. 

—  Sheraton,  4S1,  650-2. 

—  Sixteen-post,  15. 

—  Soft,  647,  651-1,  653-4. 

—  Steps,  652. 

—  Truckle,  202-3. 

—  Trundle,  140,  202-3,  *S°- 

—  Of  Ware,  16. 

Beds,  42-3,  93,  103,  140-4, 
202-5. 

—  Cost  of,  395. 

—  Disputes  about,  17-18. 

—  Folding,  250. 


Beds,  Names  of,  14. 

—  In  the  South,  16,  17. 

—  Stuffing  for,  18,  203. 
Bedsteads,  349 

—  Dutch,  250. 

—  Field,  141. 

—  Folding,  141. 

—  Four-post  oak,  141. 

—  High-post,  250. 

—  Press,  141,  212,  349. 

—  Sarsafaix,  141. 

—  Standing,  140-1. 

—  Trundle,  349. 
Bed-chamber,  importance  of  the, 

10. 
Beech,  347,  586,  589. 
Beef  wood,  588. 
Bell-flower,  The,  46,  462,465- 

6,  47",  474- 

Btl-VOir,    499,    500,    509. 

—  Furniture  <^,  500. 
Berain,  Jean,  410,  411. 
Bingham,  William,  562-4. 
Birch,  398,  586,  600. 

Blair,    Mrs.    Mary,    furniture  of, 

378-80. 
Board,  old  lume  for  table,  198. 
Bofet.      Se-    Beaufait 
Bombe,  195,  256.  405,  613. 
Bonaprte,  Joseph,  564-7. 
Bookcase,  151,  121,  622-3. 
Books,  66-7,  221. 
Borromini,  41 1. 
Bouny  Bay  oak,  589 
BouUe,     Andre     Charles,     152, 

403-8. 
Box,  54. 

with-drawen,  56. 

Box  wood,  57,  586. 

Boylston,  N.,  furniture  of,  386. 

Brass,  341-2. 

Bian  handles,  322. 

Brass  inlay,  597. 

Brass  mounts,    286,    322,    340. 

Brass  ware  for  fiimiture,  286. 

Braziers,  355. 

Braziletto  wood,  285. 

Brewster,    Francis,    fiimiture  of, 

165. 
Brewton,  Miles,  home  of,  494-5. 
Brick,  kilns  in  New  England,  160. 
Bricks,  7,  33-4,  81,  115,  158- 

9.  54*. 

659 


Bromfield,  Edward,  bonne  of,  377. 
Bulfet.      See  Beaufait. 
Buffet  stool,  1 90- 1. 
Buhl.     See  BouUe. 
Bureau,  56,  369. 
Bureau-ilesk,  369. 

—  Dressing,  610. 

Burnet,  Gov.  Wm. ,  fiimiture  of, 

174-8. 
Buroc.      See  Bureau. 
Butternut,  600. 
Byrd,  Col.  Wm.,  importatioos of, 

33- 

Cabinkt,  61,  111-3,  S^^- 

—  East  India,  223,  259. 

—  Musical,  530. 

—  Olive  wood,  346. 
Cabinet-maker,  stock  of  a  (1798), 

546-8. 
Cabinet-maken,    173,     315-25, 
390-1,    546,    601-5,   612- 

—  Advertisements  of,  187-8. 

—  Batty  Langley  on,  415-8. 
Cabinet-making,  amateur,  287. 
Cabinet  and  Chair-Maker's  Book 

of     Prices,     quotation     from, 
613-21 
Cabriole  leg,  57,  194,  195,  256, 

177- 
Calimanco,  632. 
Calico,  17,  631. 
Calvert,    Leonard,    furniture    of, 

»4-S 
Camak,  14. 
Camblet,  632. 
Camoca,  14. 
Camwood,  598. 
Canary  wood,  589. 
Caite  seats,  i  36. 
Carpets,  24,  144,  195-6. 
Carter,     Robert,     furniture     of, 

II 7-9. 
Carven,  173.  I79.  JS9- 
Carving,  61,  359,  450-1. 

—  Dutch  love  of,  142-3. 

—  Elisabethan  and  Jacobean,  18- 
20. 

Carvinp,   356-7. 
Case,  54. 

—  -of-drawen,  216,  341-4,  370. 
Cashoes,  257. 


INDEX 


Casket,  inlaid  (1654),  238. 

Casters,  113. 

Catesby,    Mark,  quotation    From, 

594- 
Cedar,  63,  86,  134,  139,  140, 
145,  149,  160,  20I,  102, 
214,  268,  281;,  322,  335, 
147,  585.  586,  589.  595i 
599 

—  Bermuda,  179,  201. 

—  Red,    160,    173,    322,    369, 

391 

—  Spanish,    322. 
Cellarets,  475-6,  534. 

Chairs,  45-51,  135-9,  180-195, 
270,     290-1,    335,     338-9, 

347-9,  393,539-40- 
Chairs,  "  Bannister  back,"  471. 

—  Bass-bottomed,  137-8,  186. 

—  Birch,  39S. 

—  BUck,  137,   320,  335,  365. 

—  Brocade  bottom,  138 

—  Cabriole,  47 1 . 

—  Carved,  138,  194. 

—  Cedar,  138. 

—  Child's,  1 8 1-2. 

—  Chippendale,  274,  276,  277- 
8,456,638. 

—  Comb-back,  398. 

—  Conversation,  483-4,  639. 

—  Comer,  124,  138. 

—  Cromwell,  45. 

—  Crooked-back,  335,  347. 

—  Crown-back,  336,  338,  456. 

—  Curled  maple,  539. 

—  Derbyshire,  45-6. 

—  Dutch,  248,  277. 

—  Dutch  influence,  194-5. 

—  Ebony,  249. 

—  Elbow,  348-9. 

—  "  Embowed,"    276-7,    278, 

349,  456- 

—  Fancy,  640-41. 

—  Five-back,  347. 

—  Flag,  138. 

—  Four-back,  347. 

—  Great,  164-5. 

—  Grecian,  539. 

—  Green,  186. 

—  Heppclwhite,  471,  638-9. 

—  Herculaneums,  483,  639'. 

—  Hickory,  138. 

—  Joiners,  320. 

—  Landscape,  539. 

—  Leather, 45, 182-5,  334,  347- 

—  "  Lolling,"  549. 

—  Maple  matted,  138. 

—  Number    and    variety    of,     in 
New  Amsterdam,  248-9. 

—  Number    and    variety    of,    in 
New  England,  1 91-4. 

—  Number   and    variety    of,     in 
the  South,  46 

—  Oak,  45-46,  165. 


Chairs,      Parmetaw     (palmetto), 
138. 

—  Patchwork,  347. 

—  "  Plate-back,"  277,  347. 

—  Red,  138. 

—  Reed,   186. 

—  Rocking,  539. 

—  Roundabout,  349. 

—  Rush,  45,  186. 

—  Saddlecheck,  291. 

—  Sealskin,  334,  347. 

—  Sedge-bottom,  186,  334. 

—  -  Settle,  195. 

—  Sewing,  539. 

—  Sheepskin,  138. 

—  Sheraton,  482-4,  639. 

—  Shield-back,  471,  628. 

—  Slat,  335,  347. 

—  Straw,  138. 

—  Straight,  347. 

—  Stufl^d  or  upholstered,  188-9. 

—  Table,  63,  195-6. 

—  Three-back,  347. 

—  Trafalgar,  539,  540,   641. 

—  Two-back,  347. 

—  Turkey-work,  45,  137,  190, 

335»  339,  346,  347,  396- 

—  Tumed,  182. 

—  Venetian,  184-5. 

—  Wainscot,  23,  182. 

—  Walnut,  365-6. 

—  White,  137;  seats    for,  136. 

—  Wicker,  185-6. 

—  Windsor,  138,  398,  539. 

—  "Wing,"  187,  291,  349. 

—  Wooden,  334. 

—  Wood-bottom,  45. 

—  With  X-shaped  legs,  188-9, 
241. 

—  Yorkshire,  45-6. 
Chaise  longue,  482,  644. 
Chambers,  Sir  William,  419. 
Chaney  (cheney),  632. 
Cherry,    140,    285,   320,    323, 

335.    337:    338,   340,    341 
34^.  398,  586. 
Chest,  54-5,  349-50- 

—  '♦  Brides,"  214. 

—  Cedar,  54. 

—  Development  of,  215. 

—  Oak,  54,  213. 

—  Spruce,  214. 
Chest-of-drawers,  56,  145,  216- 

19,  366,  370. 

—  -upon-chest,  370-1. 

with-drawers,     55-6,     174, 

216,  349-50,  366. 
Chests,    54-5,    179,   213,    271. 

—  Woods  used  for,  214. 
Chestnut,  256,  347,  586,  599. 
Chevillon,  432. 
Chimney-cloths,  263. 
Chimney-piece,  296-7. 

China,  125,  I  30-1,  297-9,  353. 

660 


China,  Defoe  on,  419. 

—  Introduction  into  Europe,  414- 
16. 

—  Mania,  beginnings  of,  412. 

—  Marot's  use  of,  416-7. 

—  Ornamental,  130-1,  300-1, 
357,  368. 

—  Use  of,  in  decoration,  416-9. 

—  Wares,  223. 

Chinese,    Chippendale's    use    of, 

455- 

—  Designs,  428. 

—  Fad,  419-20. 
Chintz,  143. 

Chippendale,  Thomas,  419,  432- 
50,  452-8,  638,  646-7. 

Chippendale  furniture,  452-64, 
627. 

Chocolate,  128. 

Chomel,  594. 

Cipriani,  589. 

Cleansing  utensils,  Dutch,  247. 

Cleopatra^ s  Barge,  554-5. 

Clinton,  Gen.  Charles,  290. 

—  De  Witt,  537. 

—  Quotation  from,  611. 
Clock,  alarm,  146. 

—  "  Banjo,"  531. 

—  Brass,  334. 

—  and  case,  171,  224. 

—  Chiming,  518. 

—  Cuckoo,  530. 

—  French,  531. 

—  Friesland,  244—5. 

—  German,  531. 

—  Japanned,  146. 

—  Musical,  528-30,  531-2. 

—  Repeating,  224. 

—  Table,  146. 

Clocks,  84,  146-7,  171-2,  224  , 

302-4,  324. 
Clockmakers,  102,  302-4. 
Cloths,  cupboard,  24,  197,    207, 

209,  263. 

—  For  chests-of-draweis,  218. 

—  Press,  211. 

Cochin,  satire  of,  429-31. 

Coffee,  128,  130. 

Colbert,  404. 

Colonists,  early  Virginia,  3-7. 

—  Needs  for,  237-8. 

Colour,  use  of  bright,    17,   144— 

5,  334- 
Copper-plate    bed     furniture,    98, 

280,  646. 
Coromandel  wood,  589. 
Couch  and  squab,  393. 
Counterpane,  17,  143. 
Court  cupboard.      See  Cupboard. 
Court  House,  furniture  of  a  Va., 

71-2. 
Coverlid,  205. 

Cox,  William,  furniture  of,  254. 
Crescents,  The,  407. 


INDEX 


Cricket,  191. 

Crundell,  Thomu,  fureiture    of, 

»S4- 
Cupbooxd,    163,    20$,    207-11, 

334-S 

—  Court,  22-3,  167,  207-8. 

—  cheat-with-drawen,  210. 

—  Comer,  14$. 

—  with  drawen,  168-9. 

—  CD  a  frame,  210. 

—  Livery,  36-7,  207. 

—  Pre«,  37. 

—  Sideboard,  210. 
Cuftain*,  143-4. 

Cuthioot,  24,  58,  14$,  348-9. 

—  Number  and  variety  of,  196-8. 
Cyptm,    63,    139,    140,     I4«. 

146,  149,  214. 

Damaik,  632. 

Daiby,     Matthias,     420,     441, 

4S0 
Damick     (damix    or    domeck), 

«7 
David,  Louii,  $72. 
Davilier,  i)uocation  from,  416. 
Deacon,    Thomas,    furniture   of, 

22. 
De   Lange,    Jacob,   furniture   of, 

161-2. 
Derby,  Eliat  H.,  home  of,  548- 

S3- 
Desk,  56,  220. 

—  Articles  for,  302. 

—  Contents  of,  221. 

—  Maple,  319. 

—  Press,  220. 

Desk  with  drawers,  ;6. 

Desk,  on  which  Declaratioa  of 
Independence  was  written, 
correspondence  regarding,  ;i8 
-21. 

Desmalter,  Jacob,  $72. 

Dimity,  17. 

Dining-room,  38-40. 

Domeck,  17. 

Doten  Kammer,  269. 

Dome  for  beds,  481  -1. 

Drapery,  importance  of,  628-31. 

—  Swap  of,  478. 
Dresser,  208,  210. 
DrcHing-glaas,  146. 

—  -Tables,  57. 

—  Articles  for,  301-2. 
Drugget,  17. 
Dumb-waiter,  362. 

Duncan,  George,  homeof,273-4. 

Durant,  637. 

Dutch  furniture,  68-9,  107. 

—  Influences  upon  furniture,  1 70. 

—  Influences,  growth  of,  57. 
Dutch  styles,  61,  271. 

Dyke,  Comelis  Van,  fitmiture 
«»f.  »S3-4 


East  Inma  CABiKtrs,  223,  229, 

»$9 

—  Company,  223. 

—  Goods   in    New    Amsterdam, 
258-9. 

—  Goods  in  New  England,  165. 

—  (Silk,  wool  and  cotton),  633. 
Eaton,    Gov.    T.,    furniture    of, 

166-8. 
E*»ny.  378,  392,406,407,  586. 
5*7.  S«9-9o.  S93.  59* 

—  Scarcity  of,  in   New  England, 

^    '79- 

Ebiniuf,  definition  of,  590. 

Elizabethan  furniture,  18-21. 

Elm,  160,  173,  586. 

Empire  style,  571-3. 

Engravings,  192. 

English,  Capt.  Philip,  228. 

English  cabinet-makers,  influence 

of  French  work  on,  412. 
Epes,  Francis,  fiimiture  of,  51-4. 

Etcrinire,  220,   34I,   369-7O. 

Euritor  01,  Spanish,  593. 
Escutcheons,     322,     336,    399- 

400. 
Evelyn,  John,    quotations    firom, 

411,415,421. 
Eyre,     Katharine,     furniture    of, 

346-7 

Fashion  in  Amckica,  487. 

—  The  South,  488-9,  492-3. 

—  Papers,  quotations  from,  573- 
9,  580. 

Fashions,  New,  11;,  284. 

—  In  Virginia,  1 1  j. 
Faneuil  Peter,  380-5. 

—  Frame  for  portrait  of,  360-1. 

—  Furniture  of,  382-5. 

—  Importations  of,  380-2. 

Feet,  194-5.  453-4- 

Fir.  589.  599 

Fitzhugh,  William,  31-2. 

—  Orders    furniture     and    plate 
from  England,  32-3. 

Floor  cloth,  pinted,  144. 
Foot,  ball  I  Dutch ),  265. 

—  Ball-and-claw,  266,453,454. 

—  Chippendale,  453-4. 

—  Heppelwhite,  471. 

—  Spwle,  471,  474- 

—  Term,  471,  474- 
Foodwnks,  249. 

Focks,  67.  131,  132,  243(note), 

353 
Frankland,    Sir    Charles    Henry, 

home  of,  378,  469. 
Franklin  stove,  9",  355. 
Frankhn,      Benjamin,     quotation 

from,  97-9 

—  Home  and  furniture  of,  104-6. 
Franklin,   Mn.  Benjamin,  quota- 
tion firom,  104-6. 

Ml 


Frame,  212-3,  2x3,  266. 
French    design      (Regency     and 

Louis  XV.),  418-32. 
Frise,  632 
Furniture,    how     to    judge     old, 

623-7. 

—  In  PhiUdelphia,  86-9. 

—  Of  precious  meok,  404. 

—  Silver,  404. 

—  Transitional  styles  of,  408-10. 

Gale,  Daniel,  furniture  of,  1 1 1  -2. 
Gar  del  Je  ma.      See  Cellaret. 
Geib,  Adam,  526. 

—  A.  and  W.,  527-8. 

—  John,  514,  526-7. 
Gerandoles.     See  Girandoles. 
German  root,  589. 

—  Wood,  589. 

Gibbons,  Grinling,  411,  586. 

Gilding,  451. 

Gimp,  637. 

Gill,  Stephen,  furniture  of,  34-6. 

Girandoles,  292,  310,  312,466. 

Girard,     Stephen,     fiimiture    of, 

564. 
Girondelles.      See  Girandoles. 
Gitteme,  224. 
Glass,  handles,  606. 
Glassware,  115,  199. 
Glass,  Windows,  29,  158,    159. 

374- 
Gobelin     Manu&ctory,     404-5, 

503- 
Goodrich,  William,  furniture  of, 

»57- 
Goodyear,  Mrs.  .furniture  of  164. 
Gordon,  Gov.    Patrick,  fiimiture 

of,  91-3. 
Gothic,  Chippendale's  use  of,45  3. 

—  Revival,  The,  421-5. 

—  Style  in  New  York,  183. 
Grates,  355. 

Gregson,  Thomas,    furniture  of, 

163-4. 
Grenoble  root,  589. 

—  Walnut,  589 
Gribelin,  Samuel,  411. 

Haiscloth,  63s. 
Halfpenny,  William,  420. 
Hallet,  William,  440. 
Hammock,  142. 
HaiKtti  Hottu,  374-7. 
Handles,  brass,  399-400. 
Hare-wood,  589. 
Hirmonicon,  513. 
Harp,  keyed,  521. 
Harpsichord,  390,  524,  $82-4. 
Harrateen,  637. 

Hearth  and  furniture,  355,  356. 
Heppelwhite,  A.  4c  Co.,  quotatioa 
from,  469-70. 

—  Furniture,  470-6,  627. 


INDEX 


Hq>pelwhice,  Sheraton  on,  436. 
Hickory,    138,   236,   256,   268, 

599- 
Highboy,  342,  366. 
High  case  of  drawers,  320,  342, 

344- 
Home,  Dutch,  242-4. 
Hospitality,  Southern,  488-90. 
House  of  Seven   Gabla,  furniture 

of,  325-8. 
House-building  in  Virginia,  33-4. 
Houses,  Early  New  England,  1 60. 

—  Philadelphia,  81. 

—  Southern,  29. 

■ —  Virginia,  3,  6,  7. 

Houses,     ^mous     Virginia    and 

Maryland,  115. 
Howe,  Sir  William,  290,  556. 
Hudson,  Capt.  William,  1 77-8. 
Husk,  465-6,471,  474. 

Immigrant,    Possessions    of   an, 

162. 
Importations,  398. 
Ince,  W.,  441. 
Ince  and  Mayhew,  457. 

—  Sheraton  on,  436. 

Indian  massacre  in  Virginia,  6-7. 
Inkle,  637. 
Intarsia,  406. 
Ironwood,  178. 

Jacobean  Furniture,  18-21. 
Japanned  ware,  368. 
Jefferson,     Thomas,     home     of, 
516-8. 

—  Letter  of,  518-20. 
Joiners,  173.  •74.  "rS-*,  31$- 

325,  390-2. 
Joint  stools,  349. 
Jones,  Inigo,  41 1. 
Jones,  John,  furniture  of,  88-9. 

William,  450. 
Jousse,  Mathurin,  410. 

Kas,  264-267. 
Kaufmann,  Angelica,  589. 
Kent,  William,  412-4. 
Kidd,  Capt.  William,  255-6 
Kidderminster,  17. 
King  wood,  588. 
Kitchen,  New  England,  358. 
Kitterminster,  17. 
Knife-boxes,  133-4,476. 
Knives,  353. 
Kos.     See  Kas. 

Lacquer,  259,  339. 

La  Joue,  432. 

Lamberton,  George,  Aimiture  of, 

163. 
Lamps,  311. 
Langley,  Batty,  421-8. 
Lanterloo,  1 26. 


Lanterns,  311. 
Le  Brun,  405. 
Leg,  Heppelwhite,  471. 

—  Sheraton,  478. 

—  Term,  471. 
Leopard  wood,  589. 
Le  Pautre,  Jean,  410. 
Letter-case,  532. 

Lewis,  William,  furniture  of,  87. 
Lignum  vitz,  178. 
Lime,  586. 
Linen,  132-3. 

—  Story  about,  172. 
Linsey-woolsey,  632. 
Lock  and  key,  54. 
Lock,  Matthias,  450. 
Locks,  222. 

Logan,  James,  home  of,  94-5. 
Logwood,  598. 

Looking-glasses,    9,     225,    292, 
310-11,  359. 

—  Ebony,  9. 

—  Olive-wood,  9,  30,  58. 
Low  boy,  342,  366. 

Low  case  of  drawers,    320,    343 

344,  367- 
Louis    Quartorze   furniture,    152, 

404-5. 
Louis  Seize  furniture,  571. 
Louis  Seize,  gift  to  Washington, 

503-4. 
Ludlow,  Col.   Thomas,  furniture 

of,  41-2. 
Luxury    in  furniture,  growth  of, 

44-S- 
Lyre,  478. 

Madeira,  i  34,  140. 

Mahogany,  88,  103,  123-4 
129-30,  133-4,  139,  140 
141,  148-9,  179,  256-8 
270,  285,  286,  320,  322 
3»4,  3^9,  336,  341,  366 
369,  370,  378,  396,  483 
539.  585,  59>.  592,  593-8 
606. 

—  Adam's  use  of,  596. 

—  Heppelwhite's  use  of,  596. 

—  Sheraton  on,  596-7. 
Manchineal,  140. 
Mangle,  512. 

Mantelpiece,  ornaments  for,  356— 

7- 
Maple,    160,     173,    268,    318, 
319,    322,    323,    341,    342, 
347.  3''9.  397,  586. 

—  Curled,  285,  606. 
Maps,  147-8  . 
Marchpane,   247. 
Marquetry,  68,  256,   269,  406, 

407,  410,  452,  593. 
Marot,  Daniel,  410-12,  416-7, 

450. 
Mary,  Queen,  love  of  china,  412. 


Marzipan,  pans  for,  247. 
Mastic,  589. 
Mather,  Cotton,  182. 

—  Richard,  182. 

—  Samuel,  182. 
Mattress,  hair,  144. 

Mazarin,    Cardinal,    403,     404, 

4'4,  4«S- 
Meissonier,  J.  A.,  429,  431. 

—  Influence      on       Chippendale, 

431,  448-9- 

Messenger,  Henry  (joiner),  woods 
of,  177. 

Metal  mounts,  222,  452. 

Michel-Rene,  432. 

Mico,  John,  home  of,  350—2. 

Minever,  17. 

Minuit,  Peter,  236. 

Mirror,  358-9. 

Mirrors.     See  Looking-glasses. 

Mischianza,  The,  556-9. 

Mode,  Gyles,  furniture  of,  40- 
I. 

Mohair,  632. 

Monnoyer,  J.  B.,  412. 

Monroe,  President,  568. 

MontictHoy  516,  517,  518,  511, 
522. 

Morris,  Robert,  512,  559-62. 

Mount  Vernon,  119,  124,  134, 
146,  499,  500,  501,  502, 
503,  504-9,  515,  516,  532. 

Mount  Vernon  Ladies'  Associ- 
ation, 508. 

Mounts,  furniture,  19. 

Mulberry,  139. 

Musical  glasses,  522-3. 

Musical  instruments,  276,  304- 
6,  389-90. 

Necessaries  for  Planters,  7-8. 
Needlework,    58,    145,   308-10, 
357-8. 

—  Teachers  of,  308-10,  358. 
Nest  of  drawers,  56,   216,  217, 

218. 
New  Amsterdam,  237. 

—  flowers  in,  237. 

New  England,  intercourse  with 
Dutch,  165. 

—  First  houses  in,  1 56. 

—  Luxury  and  elegance  in,  1 69- 
-71,  226-7,487. 

—  First  settlers  of,  155. 
Nutwood,  236,  268. 

Oak,  20-1,  23-4,  63,  86,  139, 
141,  149,  160,  166,  173, 
178,  182,  201,  202,  209, 
236,  268,  319,  320,  347, 
406,  585,  586,  589,  599, 
600. 

—  "  Baronial,"  165,  171. 

—  Carved,  152. 


662 


INDEX 


Oak,  Canred,  Puritaa  hatred  of, 
169-70. 

—  En^nh,  139. 

—  PoUard,  $86. 
-  White,  140. 

Olive  wood,  9,  ]o,  58,  115, 
169,  171,  J46,  5*9- 

Organ,  306,  389. 

Onoe,  Philibert  dc  1',  410. 

Orinoulu,  408,  465,  466,  596, 
$97. 

Onujnenti,  Adam,  46$  6. 
Elixabcthan,  19-20. 

—  Heppelwhite,  471-1,  474- 

—  Jacobean,  19-ao. 

—  MeJMiinier'*,  449. 

—  Rocaille,  431 -a. 

—  Sheraton,  478. 

Oriental  goods  in  New  Aouter- 
dam,  254-5- 

Padoamy,  632. 

Paff,  J    and  M.,  525,  526. 

Palivandre,  587,  589. 

Parlour,   38-40. 

Pafiir-Miiht,  97. 

Partridfc  wood,  589. 

Pear  wood,  199,  586,  589. 

—  Omamenti  ot*,  179. 
Parcier,  571. 
Pcdcttal,  474-S- 
Perpctuana,  17. 

Penn,  William,  79,  81-3. 

—  Furniture  of,  84-6. 
Pepperell,  Sir  William,  332-4. 
PhiUppon,  410. 

Phillips,  George,  home  of,  156-7. 
Phipp*,  Sir  William,  228,  230- 

'.  345 
Piano,     521-2,     524-8,      582, 

$«4-5 

—  Harp,  521 

Pictures,    66,      147-8,     261-3, 

357,  359- 

Picture  frames,  359-60. 

raiemcnt,  J.,  428. 

Pine,  63,  86,  139,  141,  145, 
149,  160,  173,  302,  209, 
319,  322,    341,     342,   347, 

394,  599- 
Pitcher,  Moll,  321. 
PUte,    22,    32-3,     43  4,    121, 

125,  126,  131-3,  206,  324, 

380-2. 
Pluth,  632. 
Poitou,  Philippe,  407. 
Poplar,  139,  140.  323,  586. 
Porcelain,  23,    223,  255,   259- 

61. 

—  Use  of,  in  furniture,  408. 
Porcupine  wood,  589. 
Pottery,  357 

Pouch  tables,  481. 
Press,  211-12. 


Press  bedstead,  112. 

-  Linen,  173. 
Presses,  145. 
Purple  wood,  589. 

QvKKN  Anne  sttls,  417-18. 
Quilts,  I4X-3. 

R  ATKINS,   63X. 

Raynes,  cloth  of,  14. 
Red  bay,  594-5. 
Red  wood,  598. 
Regency,  Art  of  the,  431. 
Renaissance,  French,  18,  19,  45, 

68,  194. 
Rrnsseber,    Nicholas  van,    home 

of,  147-8. 
Rensselaenwyck,  236. 
Revolution,  French,  influence  on 

furniture  of  the,  571 
Ribbon-back  chair  (derivation  of 

Chippendale's),  450. 
Rings,  curtain,  203 
Rocaille  ornaments,  428,  431-2. 
Rock-and-shell  work,  422 
Rods,  Z03. 

Rugen,  N.,  home  of,  387-8. 
Rooms    decorated    after   ancient 

styles,  283. 
Rosewood,  445,  586,  587,  588, 

597. 
Royalists  in  New  England,  169. 

—  Virginia,  44. 

Ruiiu,  use  of,  in  decoration,  421- 
2. 

Salt,  silvei,  206. 

Sampler,  357. 

Sandwd  tlooit,  96. 

Sarcenet,  632. 

Satin-wood,  378,  476,  478,  588- 

9.  597 
Say  well,    D.    (joiner),    stock   of, 

«73- 
Scagliola,  466. 
Sconces,  310-1 1. 
Scotton,  John  (joiner),  stock  of, 

«73 
Screens,  144. 
Screeture.     See  Euriuirt. 
Scretore.     See  Eicriroirt. 
Screwtore.     See  EuriiMre. 
Searsucker  (seersucker),  632. 
Seats,  138-9,   180,   191. 
Serge,  17,  63V 
Settee,  393. 

—  Turkey-work,  196. 
Settle.  195. 

--  Chair,  195. 

Sewall,    Judge,    importatians   by, 
227,  330-1. 

—  Quotation  from,  545-6. 
Shagreen  cases,  133. 
Shalloon,  632. 

663 


Shell-fluting    (or    fluted    shell), 

466,  4:'4- 
Shell-work,  431 
Shelley,    Capt.     G.,    house    of, 

272-3 
Sheraton,  Thomas,  476-84,  516. 

—  Books  of,  476-8. 

—  on  Chippendale,  435-6. 

—  on  the  dome,  481-2. 

—  on  Heppelwhite,  436. 

—  On  Ince  and  Mayhew,  436. 

—  Quotation  firom,  596-7,  628. 

—  On  Tambour,  600-1. 
Shippcn,  Judge,  quotations  from, 

107. 
Ships:  Abigail,  175;  Albany, 
282;  America,  162;  America, 
554i  Amity,  267;  Anthony, 
44i  Arms  of  New  Amster- 
dam, 236;  Astrea,  548;  Bach- 
elour,  268;  Castle,  162;  Dove, 
293;  Duke  fA  York,  43; 
Frame,  634;  Fortune,  235; 
Grand  Turk,  548;  Great 
Ship,  162-3,  '^5i  Hector, 
165;  Hope,  288;  Increase, 
I74j  Irene,  28 1^  Little  Fox, 
235;  Lyon,  161 ;  Mayflower, 
161;  Neptune,  2S1;  Night- 
ingale, 235;  Polly,  282  i 
Robert,  267  ;  Samson,  281  ; 
Sea  Mew,  236;  Success,  285; 
Thomas  and  Ann,  27;  Tiger, 

«35- 
Short,  Sewell  (joiner),  stock  of, 

321-2. 
Sideboard,     134,     473   6,     534, 

536,  579-80- 

—  Table,  I  34. 
Smith,  George,  437. 
Snake  wood,  210,  589. 

Snow,    Justinian,     furniture    of, 
8-10. 

Sofi.  539-40- 

—  Heppelwhite.  472-3,  641-4. 

—  Sheraton,  482,  644,  651-1. 
Spanish  chairs,  592. 

—  Leather,  592. 

—  Table,  62,  201,  591,  594. 
Sparhawk,  Elisabeth,  furniture  of, 

334- 
Spinet,  de^nition  of,  582. 
Splat,  development  of,  177 -8. 
Spoon-cases,  133-4. 
Spruce,  214. 

Sdegel,  Baron,  hcone  of,  90. 
Scolds,  432. 
Stove,  97,  355- 
Strawberry  Hill,  421-3. 
Strapwork,  Elixabethan,  19. 
Steenwyck,    Cornelis,    home   of, 

»45-7. 
Scoob,  (90-1,  149-50. 
Study,  The,  an. 


INDEX 


Sweet  gum,  285. 

Sylvester,  N.,  furniture  of,  240. 

Tables,    62-5,    139-40,    198- 
202,  250,  361. 

—  Bay,  139,  140. 

—  Beech,  347. 

—  Butterfly,  202. 

—  Card,  65,  126-7,  389. 

—  Case-of-drawers,  367. 

—  Cedar,  1  39,  140. 

—  Chair,  63,  195-6. 

—  Chestnut,  347. 

—  Drawing,  63-4,  166,  199. 

—  Dutch,  139,  140. 

—  Falling,  64. 

—  Folding,  62-3,  199 

—  And  form,  199. 

—  Framed,  199, 

—  India  tea,  140. 

—  Madeira,  140. 

—  Mahogany,  361. 

—  Mahogany  bureau,  361. 

—  Marble,  139,  140,  361. 

—  Manchineal,  140. 

—  Mulberry,  I  39. 

—  Oval,  63,  200. 

—  Painted,    289. 

—  Painted  (Dutch),  140. 

—  Pouch,  482. 
—  Screen,  140. 

—  Side,  201. 

—  Sideboard,  64,  134,  202. 

—  Slate-top,  139. 

—  Spanish,  62,  201. 

—  Sycamore,  586. 

, —  Tea,  128-9,  362-5. 

—  Thousand-legged,  202. 

—  Walnut  breakfast,  364. 

—  Woods  used  for,  63,  201,  202. 
Tabby,  632. 

Taffetas,  632. 
Tammy,  637. 
Tailer,    Col.    William,    furniture 

of,  371-3- 
Tambour,  Sheraton's  definition  of, 

600-1. 
Tapostry,  57. 

—  Gobelin.  289. 
Tea,  128. 

—  Board,  362. 

—  Tables,  128-9,  362-5. 


Tea,  (India),  362. 

—  Service,  129-30,  299-300, 
362-4. 

Terms  (Androuct),  195. 

Thorn,  586. 

Toilet  (or  twilight),  263. 

Tortoiseshell,  406,  407. 

Trenchers,  9. 

Trestle,  199. 

Trunk,  54,  57,  21 5.  349-5°- 

—  With  frame,  215. 

—  Hair,  215. 

—  Seal  skin,  215. 
Tulip  wood,  588,  597. 
Turkey-work,  190. 
Turner,  Capt  John,  325. 

Upholsterers,    100-2,    175-6, 

179,  278   9,  390-1. 
Upholsterer's  goods,  394-5. 
Uphobtery,  179,  193,  471-2. 

—  Favourite  colours  for,  41 ,  I  89. 

—  Materials  used  for,  189,  631- 

2,  634-7- 

—  Beds,  645-54. 

—  For  chairs,  637-9. 

—  Sofas,  642-4. 
Urn,  467,  471,  478. 

Valance,  17,  647,  649. 

Van  Varick,  Margarita,  furniture 

of,  258-61. 
Vase,  478. 

—  (Adam),  467. 

—  Knife-case,  476 
Vauxhall  factory,  9,  58. 
Viol,  390. 

Violet  ebony  (palissandre),  589. 

—  Wood  (palissandre),  587. 
Virginia,  fashion  in,  26. 
Virginals,  224,  389,  582. 

Wainscot,  23-4,   160. 

—  Chairs,  182. 

—  Settle,  23. 

Wall-paper,   97,  281-2.  374-5. 

Watchet,  632. 

Walnut,  63,  86,  139,  140,  141, 
149,  160,  173,  209,  256, 
270,  319,  320,  323,  338, 
34»>  365.  394.  396,  586, 
589. 


Walnut,  Black,   134,  139,  182, 
202,   284,    318,    319,    322, 

3»3.   335.    34a.  347.   395. 
600. 

—  Burr,  412-4,  586. 
Walpole,  Horace,  422,  414. 

—  Sir  Robert,  412. 

WardcU,     William,     home     of, 

229-30. 
Wardrobes,  370. 
Warming-pans,  67,  251. 
Washington,    George,    home    of, 

500-9. 

—  in  New  York,  509-12. 

—  in  Philadelphia,  512-14. 
Watteau,  428 

Waxwork   (lacquer),  case,   259, 

339- 
Wheeler,    Francis,    furniture    of, 

4«- 
Whitewood,  179.  3  >«.  335.  33*. 

340,  341,  342. 
Wilkinson,  N. ,  furniture  of,  1 10- 

II. 
Wilson,    Major  J  ,    furniture  of, 

1 1 3-4. 
Winder,  John,  fiirniture  of,  239. 
Windsor  Chair,  89. 
Wine-coolers,  534-5. 
Woods   for  furniture,    63,    139, 

140,    141,    145-6.     148-9. 

160,    173,    201,    202,    214, 

256-8,   268-9,270-1,284- 

285,  585-600. 

—  Chippendale's  use  of,  452. 

—  Kalm  on,  284-5. 

—  Reckless  use  of,  268. 

—  Sheraton's  use  of,  478. 
Work-boxes,  532. 
Work-table,  532. 

—  Lady    Blessington's,    533. 
Work-tables,  482. 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  412. 
Wyatt,    Nicholas,    furniture    of, 
58-61. 

Yale,     Elihu,    purnitore    or, 

336-7. 
Yew,  586,  587-8,   589. 

ZtBRA-woor,  588. 
Zumpe,  524. 


664 


Cl)c 


^Htful  JBook  library 

ti  Expensive  Standard  Works  Sold 
in  Separate  Volumes  at  the  Price 
of  Current  Novels. 


Why  Books  Cost  So  Much 

WHKN  a  customer  buys  a  new  book,  his  money  goes  to  pay 
these  distinct  charges:  I.  Royalty  to  the  author.  2.  Pay- 
ment to  the  typesetter  and  electrotyper.  3.  Cost  of  paper, 
printing,  and  binding.  4.  Cost  of  making  the  book  known  by 
advertising,  salesmen,  circulars,  posters,  etc.  5.  Profit  to  the 
bookseller.  6.  Profit  (if  there  be  one)  to  the  publisher.  So  far 
as  we  know,  there  is  no  getting  away  from  any  of  these  six  deadly 
charges  on  a  new  book,  but  there  is  one  large  cost;  namely,  that 
of  setting  the  type  and  making  electrotype  plates  which  does  not 
have  to  be  duplicated  with  each  printing,  and  this  plate  or  initial 
cost  is  one  of  the  largest  and  it  goes  far  to  establish  the  price  at 
which  the  book  shall  be  sold. 

^  This  is  particularly  true  of  important  books  of  reference,  travel, 
biography,  etc.,  which  require  many  pages  of  typesetting,  editing 
and  correction,  and  often  elaborate  illustrations.  A  tremendous 
number  of  gfx)d  books  have  their  first  sale  at  a  fairly  large  price, 
and  just  when  they  reach  the  stage  of  having  paid  expenses,  die  an 
ignoble  and  neglected  death  because  the  market  at  the  high  price 
at  which  they  had  to  be  published  has  been  filled;  and  yet  the 
number  of  people  who  would  care  for  these  books  and  could  afford 
to  purchase  them  at  a  lower  price  has  not  been  touched  —  a  bad 
state  of  things  for  all  concerned. 

%  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company  have  recently  made  some  experi- 
ments with  b<Kiks  the  sales  of  which  have  paid  for  the  cost  of  prep- 
aration at  the  higher  price,  and  have  started  the  library  of  which 
the  following  books  are  a  beginning.  New  volumes  will  be  added 
continually.     Information  of  these  will  be  given  on  request. 


Volumes  of 

%})t  Useful  i&ooK  Etbrarp 


The  International  Cook  Book 


m 


J(&4.- 


Me 

^nlemalional 
GDokBook 

Filippini 


Net  $1.00 


By  Alexander  Filippini 

This  is  an  exhaustive  and  unusual  book, 
containinji  nearly  Sooo  recipes  collected  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  arranged  in  diary  form, 
with  a  menu  for  each  meal  of  every  day  through- 
out the  year. 

Published  in  iqo6.  at  $4.80  net,  a  reasonable 
price  considering  that  the  b(X)k  covers  the 
whole  subject  and  contains  1,075  pages.  In  four 
years  we  sold  4,000  copies. 

About  a  year  ago  we  put  it  into  the  Useful 
Book  Library  at  $1.00  net,  10.634  copies 
have  been  sold  and  it  is  going  at  this  rate  now. 


^'k 


The  Dog  Book 

By  James  Watson 

"  Mr.  Watson  is  fully  qualitied  to  write  a  book  that 
tells  fVcrythiriK  aU)ut  dugs.  He  knows  the  animal  as 
the  result  uf  a  lifetime  of  study."     N.  Y.  Evening  Mail. 

Published  in  two  volumes  at  $10.00  and 
later  in  one  volume  at  S5.00.  Added  to  the 
Useful  B(x)k  Library  in  191 2  in  one  volume  of 
750  jmges  and  containing  the  original  810  illus- 
trations, at  $1.50,  it  sells  about  seven  times 
as  fast  as  before. 


The  Complete  Housekeeper 


DOG  BOOR 


JAMES  WATSON 


Net  $1.50 


Ml 


The  Complete 

HOUSEKECPER 


Net  $1.00 


By  Emily  Holt 

.\  mine  of  practical  household  information 
that  every  housekeei>er  should  know  but  that 
few  do  know.  It  contains  accurate  directions 
for  the  care  of  the  family;  the  house,  the 
gardens,  the  pets. 

"  Without  doubt  the   most   useful   volume  that  has 
ever  been  published  for  the  housewife." 

— Los  AttRclcs  Times. 

Published  in  1903  at  $2.00.  Republished  in 
191 2  in  the  Useful  BcKik  Library  at  $1.00  net, 
the  same  b(K)k  containing  381  pages  and  9  illus- 
trations at  one  half  the  former  price. 


The  Poultry  Book 

By  Harrison  Weir,  F.  R.  H.  S. 

The  first  adttiualf,  exhaust ivc,  practical 
manual  on  |K)ullr)',  entirely  rewritten  by  many 
American  sjjecialists  under  the  editorship  of 
Prof.  \V.  G.  Johnson    and   George   O.  Brown. 

Published  in  three  large  volumes  at  $13.60. 
Sold  of  the  e.xpensive  editions  about  3,000 
copies  in  six  years. 

Added  to  the  Useful  Book  Library  in  191 2, 
complete  in  a  single  volume  with  all  the 
original  material  1,3,^^  pages,  36  color  plates 
and  636  black  and  white  illustrations,  at  $1.50 
net.  It  is  now  selling  at  the  rate  of  5^15 
a>pies  a  year,  and  has  just  started 


Net  $1.50 


Music  Lovers  *  Cyclopedia 


MUSIC 

LOVERS 

CYCLOPEDIA 


By  Rupert  Hughes 

This  is  a  greatly  enlarged  one-volume  edition 
of  a  standard  two-volume  music  cyclopedia.  It  has 
been  thoroughly  revised,  is  up-to-date  in  every 
res|>ect  and  is  a  concise  musical  library  in  itself. 
Several  thousand  biographies  have  been  added; 
phonetic  pronunciation  of  proper  names;  and 
stories  of  sixty-one  operas. 

Published  in  1903  in  two  volumes  at 
$6.00.  Republished  in  January,  1913  with 
added  material  in  one  volume  at  $1.50  and 
more  than  1,100  copies  have  been  sold  in  three 
months. 


N«t$l.SO 


The  American  Flower  Garden 


By  Neltje  Blanchan 

This  work  covers  the  .American  (Jarden  as  that 
famous  work  by  Williams  Robinson  described 
the  Ktiglish  Garden.  It  shows  the  purpose  of 
the  different  kinds  of  gardens,  how  to  lay  them 
out,  what  effects  should  be  worked  for,  and  covers 
adtijuati-ly  the  ntxnls  of  the  amateur  whose 
garden  is  either  extensive  or  the  reverse. 

First  [)ublished  in  a  limited  $13.00  edition 
of  1.050  c«>pies  of  which  all  were  sold.  Re- 
published in  a  $5.00  edition  and  thousands 
of  copies  sold.  Put  into  the  Useful  Book 
Library  in  April,  1913,  at  $1.50  with  the 
original  7ull-|>age  illustrations,  84  in  number, 
and  1,540  copies  have  been  sold  in  two  months. 


•»!J\ 


THE 


V -fCIXie  BLANQMl 


N«t  91. SO 


^»¥i«" 


The  Encyclopaedia  of  Etiquette 


rr— 

mm 

L 

^ 
^ 

\ 

ENCYCLOPAEDIA 
or  ETIQUETTE 

\irHAT  TO  DO 
WHAT  TO  iAY 
WHAT  TO  WHITE 
WHATTOWEAR 

By  Emily  Holt 

What  to  do  —  What  to  say  —  What  to 
Write  —  What  to  Wear  —  A  Book  of  Manners 
for  Everyday  Use,  with  added  chapters  on 
etiquette  of  travel  and  etiquette  in  foreign 
countries.  It  is  a  complete  guide  to  social 
custom  both  in  this  country  and  abroad. 

Published  in  1901  at  $2.00  and  more  than  26.000 
copies  sold.  Put  into  the  Useful  Book  Library 
in  April,  igi2  at  $1.00  net  and  more  than  6,700 
have  been  sold.    500  pages.    Illustrated. 


Net  $1.00 


The  Country  House 

By  Charles  Edward  Hooper 

A  practical  manual  of  house  building,  absolutely 
invaluable  to  everyone  with  a  country  place.  It 
covers  every  branch  of  the  subject  in  detail  and 
treats  of  the  garden  and  its  furnishings  in 
connection  with   the  dwelling. 

It  is  by  far  the  most  successful  volume  on  this 
subject  and  goes  far  toward  solving  the  difficulties 
of  home  planning.  A  unique  collection  of  more  than 
300  photographs  and  plans  iUustrate  the  work. 

An  exceedingly  popular  book  as  originally  pub- 
lished at  $3.00.  Put  into  the  Useful  Book  Library 
at  $1.50  net,  the  same  book  at  half  the  former 
price.     (Will  be  published  October,  1913). 

The  Furniture  of  Our  Forefathers 

By  Esther  Singleton 


Net  $1.50 


^ 


THE 

FURNITURE  Of 

OUR  FOREFATHERS 


i 


Net  $1.50 


Here  for  the  first  time  is  presented  a  clear  and 
comprehensive  account  for  the  amateur  of  the 
different  styles,  the  ways  of  telling  the  genuine 
thing,  the  historical  associations  with  special  pieces, 
technical  details,  values  and  marks,  and  all  the 
other  unwritten  lore  of  the  subject.  The  superb 
illustrations  are  a  special  feature  of  the  book. 

"Bevond  any  doubt  or  question  the  grandest  work  ever 
published  on  the  subject  of  furniture.  "-TAi  Furnilure  Worker. 

Thousands  of  copies  have  been  sold  at  $20.00, 
$10.00  and  $5.00.  Put  into  the  Useful  Book 
Library  with  all  the  original  material  and  illus- 
trations, 334  in  number  at  $1.50.  (Will  be  pub- 
lished October,  1913). 


Pd>ii.kea  by  DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY  G«d«  city.  n.y. 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OV  C  AI.IFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  EAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


antSex 


DEC  141987 
HErDNOV30  1987 


lOOM  ll/MSchc>»4<2 


nil 


A     001  003  392     6 


flilllll 

3  1205  00821  7521 


